Sarah Stolar and Merlene Schain at SFMOMA, 2012, photo credit Jeff Medinas

Merlene Schain is a painter and mixed-media artist. She holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an MFA from the University of Cincinnati, and she has been exhibiting internationally since 1972.

Cincinnati born, in the family lineage of Rookwood Pottery and German master painter Adolph von Menzel, Merlene Schain is an acclaimed art educator in the Midwest. Founder of Schain Studios, an independent art school established in 1989, Merlene is responsible for mentoring students in achieving over 300 regional and national Scholastic awards, and over $900,000 in college scholarship money from top art schools across the country.

She has also been a Visiting Professor at the University of Cincinnati and Art Academy of Cincinnati. Her own artwork is in several prestigious private and public collections including Fidelity Investments, Merrill Dow, and Lifesphere, among others. Recently, Merlene Schain retired from teaching and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico focus on her work.

Merlene Schain’s current studio space with a selection of new drawings on the wall.

Cultural Harmony, ink and acrylic on Stonehenge paper, 44x84”, 2013

Hazel Nut Tree, Sumi ink on Stonehenge paper, approx. 12x6”, 2018, photo credit Heather Marie Bergerson