Marja-Leena

I am Marja-Leena Montonen
I was born in Northern Sweden to Finnish parents. When I was 3 years old we moved to a small village outside Stockholm, where I grew up surrounded by forests and nature. There I played and fantasized, creating a world of my own. I painted all kinds of things and often. The effect of all this deeply rooted me in my dreams and gave me the space and freedom to explore them.

Coming of age, I moved north of Stockholm and worked in many different jobs, but I painted only for myself. In 1994 I opened and ran a successful summer Cafe in Stockholm's Archipelago which allowed me more time to paint for the rest of the year. In 1999, I met my Australian husband Gregory and together we moved to a fishing village in southern Sweden where I opened my gallery, "Gallery Marja-Leena". The Gallery ran successfully until 2005 when we decided to experience other things in the world and so moved to England and then in 2008 to here in Australia.

The source of my pictures is a place I’ve never been to, but since childhood, have been deeply connected to. My characters show me what they want to show of themselves and I paint them because I love it, its my passion, and to me, that’s the most important thing to do. I love colours and I love to use them. Through my art I want to express movement, feelings of playfulness, closeness and inspiration."

I have driven "Marja-Leena" Since 2001 and have had exhibitions in Sweden, Denmark, England, Greece, Australia and New York. Some of my pictures have been used for puzzles in the USA and around the world and I have just made cards for Hallmark and Christmas cards for UNICEF 2009 & St Vincent de Paul in Australia. I have painted cards for the Swedish Asthma Society which sold 1.5 million of them. My pictures hang in the children's ward of Huntingdon Hospital, Cambridgeshire, UK. Charity cards Canada is again taking my images for 2010. I have designed Dinnerware which was released in Europe spring 2010.

But most gratifying of all is that my paintings hang in private and corporate collections around the world.