HAYDEN - On the walls of Marianne Leake's cozy living room hang scenes of horses splashing through icy streams, pink tulips stretching into bright skies and beams of light shining onto forest paths.

They are her artistic creations, plucked from her imagination and painted into reality.

"What happens when you paint is part of your being goes into the painting," she said. "So, it's hard to let them go because you feel like it's part of you and you don't want to let them go."

The 76-year-old Hayden resident has been named the Coeur d'Alene Art Association's 2014 Artist of the Year for her ability to bring wondrous natural scenes to life. From bowls of grapes rendered in watercolors to spiritual oil paintings, Leake's creations fill her home with splashes of color and whisk viewers to serene settings and worlds of light.

"I love to put light in the background, and rays of light that hit something in the front," she said. "I want to go there, I want to go to that light. I've been trying to get there. It seems like I have a theme, that I'm trying to go someplace. There's a path, and there's a light at the end, so I don't know what I'm trying to do. It seems like the paintings come out like that."

Leake has been an artist since she was about 8. She spent many years as a housewife as she raised her 10 children, but once they were all grown up she decided to attend North Idaho College where she took several art courses.

"I painted, though," she said. "All those years, I painted."

Through time, Leake's works have been displayed in the Hollywood Bowl in California as well as numerous art shows in the Northwest. She has completed works for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and has won accolades in a variety of competitions, from Art on the Green to the art show at the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo.

"Sometimes I have no idea what I'm going to paint, and then I start making colors and shapes and all of a sudden something comes to you and you start to develop it and keep adding," she said. "It's like a puzzle that you don't know what the puzzle's going to be when you're finished, but sometimes it turns out to be a really interesting piece."

Leake's husband of 56 years, Jeremiah, said her artistic talent has tremendously improved in the last four years. He pointed to a painting on the wall that depicts a wooded area with a rambling river reflecting autumnal colors.

"I like this one over here real well," he said. "It looks like somewhere out here in North Idaho. It could be the Coeur d'Alene River anywhere."

He expressed his joy about his wife earning artist of the year.

"Oh, it's fantastic, I'm so proud," he said, smiling as he put his arms around her. "She works hard at it, I tell you. She's a worker. She doesn't waste any time."

Marianne has been a member of the Coeur d'Alene Art Association for three years. She earned the artist of the year award by creating new art and bringing it to each monthly meeting, where it was evaluated among others. Marianne had the most points when they were tallied, followed by Marlee Phillips in second place and Sharon Mille in third. She received a shiny plaque and ultimate bragging rights for her artistic achievements.

Marianne said a dream of hers is to become a recognized artist, and she just may be closing in on that dream.

"I almost feel like I might be getting close to that," she said. "People recognize my work."

Marianne is currently working on compiling 30 pieces to exhibit in Hayden City Hall, where they will be on display from early January through March.

Info: www.coeurdaleneartassoc.org