Story and Photographs by Clare Stager

A visual journal of the people around Upper Left— how they wake up, what they protect, and why it matters.

I arrived at Marjorie Garneau’s home on a Monday morning with coffee in hand. It was a little gloomy for what felt like late summer, but walking into her white-and-green cottage in North Portland felt like a big hug. I was greeted by a skylit kitchen, lots of plants, a dog named Dune, and her best friend Larry—an inspiring female skater and artist in Portland, too. We all stood around the kitchen island watching Marj brew our Andino, Peru (which tastes like dark chocolate, stone fruit, and hazelnut), recapping the summer. Marjorie got married at her childhood home in Rhode Island. Larry went on a long solo road trip. And I started writing this blog.

Marjorie Garneau is affectionately known as Oily Marj on the internet. She’s a Portland-based oil painter originally from Rhode Island, whose work creates scenes and tablescapes that feel just slightly outside of reality. While the work of Frida Kahlo, Matisse, and David Hockney has all inspired Marjorie over the years, her biggest inspiration has always been her mom. A celebrated and talented artist before she passed away recently, Marne Snyder’s work transcended any single medium, from realistic figures and miniature room replicas to multimedia collage. She created beautiful vignettes, with scenes and small worlds unto themselves. Some of her work was captured during our studio visit, which you can see below.

For Marjorie, painting is less a practice than it is a way of processing. As an undergraduate art therapy and studio art major, she understood from a young age how an art practice can support and nurture your mental health. Now, in her final year of her graduate therapy program, she finds the meditative state she accesses while painting allows her to feel most herself.

The fact that Marjorie is studying to become a therapist makes complete sense after spending just five minutes with her—she is one of those rare people who makes you feel immediately seen. What follows is our conversation on creativity, intuition, and what it means to make space for the things that actually restore you.

Your work has this slightly dreamlike feeling. Tablescapes that feature unexpected animals and objects. How did you get there?

I started primarily with still life. Dinner scenes, food, beverages, creating these little chaotic moments in each painting. From there, I started incorporating more organic life, playing with animals and texture, and really leaning into that imagined feel. I just have so much fun playing with depth and with things that don’t really make sense. I hope in each of my paintings, you can kind of feel what they’re trying to say.

You studied studio art in college, then stepped away for a while. What was it like to come back?

It’s just so different when you’re making work in a school setting versus doing it for yourself. When I came back, I realized I didn’t have to listen to any of that anymore; I could break the rules, I could do whatever I wanted. And for me, that was really liberating. I really have a guttural sense of what I enjoy painting, and I follow that. That’s honestly what leads me.

Better Habits is about the difference between habits and routines. How do you protect your creative time?

I work in creative spells. When I feel one coming on, I lean into it. I’ll spend three days in my studio, my husband brings me food and water, and I just go. I say no to everything else. I have ADHD, so when I’m in it, I am in it. There’s this physical sense of needing to push something forward, to get it to a place I really love. And even though I paint fast, I slow down. Time slows down. That flow state is the most restorative thing I know.

Painting seems deeply tied to your sense of well-being.

My first major in college was actually art therapy, which feels funny to say now that I’m finishing a graduate program to become a therapist. But for me, processing via painting is my preferred way of living. I slow down when I’m painting. For a person who’s always zooming around, that’s everything.

Tell me about your mom.

She was an artist, and she took me into her studio from the time I was really little. Our bond was really centered around creating together. She was the first person who encouraged me to keep going. I’d sit for hours doing these crazy drawings, telling myself stories the whole time, and she just thought it was the coolest thing. We share a lot of the same palettes. When I’m in the studio, I feel close to her.

Nearing the end of her life with Alzheimer’s, my mom started placing her vignettes inside glass boxes. I think it represented something about her state—like she was a little bit trapped. But she never stopped creating and making work. When I’m painting, especially in our shared palettes, I feel her there.

[Pictured Below: Marne Snyder’s work in Marjorie’s Studio]

One last thing—what's your morning beverage habit?

I love this Andino, it’s so light and fruity. This is definitely the kind of coffee I like. But I will be adding my sugary creamer, and I will not apologize for that.

Catch Marjorie’s upcoming pop-up at our friends, Tender Loving Empire, where she’ll have original paintings, prints, and postcards available. You can also snag a bag of our coffee while you’re at it. Marjorie’s work will also be featured as part of a group show at One Grand Gallery this December. Explore her work at oilymarj.com.

ICYMI: Our seasonal Winter Blend, Rainy Daze, is back—available now in the cafe, online, and at your favorite grocery store. And stay tuned, because there’s more *new stuff* hitting the shelves next week.