Licensing art inspired by nature

Marjolein's earliest memory is when, as just a toddler, she would lie in the grass outside her family's home near Utrecht, The Netherlands, breathing in the sights, sounds, and smells of the natural world around her. Little did her mother know that when she lifted little Marjolein from her baby carriage and placed her into the hands of nature, she was placing nature into the hands of Marjolein.

As a little girl, Marjolein collected and treasured simple items from nature – pinecones, seeds, and flowers. As soon as she was able to hold a pencil and paintbrush, she began to lovingly capture the beauty of nature in her sketches and paintings. "It was my way of holding forever the impression I loved so much in nature," she says.

Marjolein continued to pursue those impressions as she grew and developed her talent as an artist, ultimately attending the Academy of Arts in Arnhem, The Netherlands. 

Marjolein and her husband and manager, Gaston, divide their time between country homes in Holland and in Missouri, near Hallmark's headquarters, as well a tropical retreat in the Cayman Islands. Each setting provides a unique glimpse of what nature has to offer throughout the world.  Marjolein's parents, whom she thanks for literally putting her in touch with nature all those years ago in the soft green grasses overlooking the banks of the Vecht River, have passed on. But nature keeps them at her side. "When I'm in the woods around our house picking holly branches and pinecones for our holiday table, I feel my mother there with me. And my father, too. Somewhere in me. All the ones we love will live forever in our hearts.”