The Award of Excellence from Manhattan Arts International is just one of the many honours and prizes received by American painter Marianne Ogden, in this case for Testimony Part 1, her epic visual narrative of the archetypal Hero's Journey.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, career teacher Ogden left the school where she taught in Brooklyn, New York in 2013 to emigrate with her music producer husband to Malta, where she now operates from her Balzan studio and teaches art at Verdala International School.

Established artist Ogden previously specialised in watercolour and oil portraits. She now works predominantly in mixed media and is known for her distinctive signature style - a delicate fusion of collage and hand-painting in bold graphic vignettes.

Her current portfolio features intricate and sensitively rendered depictions of Malta’s awe-inspiring architecture and monumental man-made landscapes in airy compositions bathed with light.

“I fell in love with Malta - its rich culture, creamy tiered architecture, vivid blue sky, sea and dramatic clouds. It’s a unique and special country that needs to be preserved. My current work expresses my fascination with this place - I try to capture the way it makes me feel.”

Ogden has exhibited in Malta and in galleries throughout the United States.