Marjorie Sarnat

An Artist for All Seasons

Marjorie Sarnat was born and raised in Chicago, where her calling as an artist was evident from her youngest years. She drew ballerinas and paper doll sets on every scrap of paper that came within reach—often on the margins of her schoolwork. “I was enchanted by drawings of all kinds. I collected old storybooks that neighbors discarded and practiced the drawing styles in them. Years later, I followed my dream and became a professional illustrator.”

After high school, Marjorie attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a full time drawing and painting major, and Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree along with her teaching credentials. Marjorie taught art to teens and adults in Chicago early in her career.

Later she became well known for her work with the San Francisco Music Box Co. Crystal Visions®, an award winning line of fantasy themed musical collectibles, became a best seller and still enjoys a following. Other giftware hits were Nine Lives Cats®, Project Runway® fashion crafts, Victorian Belles® porcelain bells for Enesco, and hundreds of products including tree ornaments, kitchen fabrics, and crafts items sold in Michaels Stores, Walmart, and other retail chains.

Currently Marjorie illustrates coloring books for Dover Publications. Her first book, Creative Cats, sold millions of copies worldwide and was translated into 18 languages. All of her nearly thirty coloring book titles have become bestsellers as well and have ignited a following of fans around the world. She has also, as this site will attest, taken to painting her lovely designs in color, all available for licensing through Porterfield's.

“My style is highly detailed and imaginative. I love to combine the comfort of traditional subjects with the surprise of decorative design.” Marjorie works in a variety of media including watercolors, acrylics, oil paints, and colored pencils.

Today Marjorie lives in Southern California with her artist husband, creative daughter and son, and two funny dogs. She can be found almost any day of the week in her home studio painting and drawing to her heart’s content.

Select a category below to see all images available in that category