COEUR d’ALENE — Marilyn "Mara" Parent has many stories to tell.

She’s raised four children, is a self-taught artist and worked in fashion. She is a woman of deep faith and lived all over the country before settling in Coeur d’Alene.

She also just turned 100 years old.

Born in Chicago in 1925, Parent was fascinated by art and artists at a young age.

“I always wanted to paint,” she said. “There was a girl at my grammar school that could draw and paint and I said, ‘I want to do that.'”

Even as she raised four children and moved cities several times, she never lost sight of her dream. Once her children began school, she took her first painting classes in her late 20s.

Parent recalled the anxiety of her first class, where she was instructed to paint an image of a plate.

“The thing that got me was that (the instructor) wasn’t very nice,” Parent said.

Ironically, this impression left by her instructor not only made her more motivated to pursue painting, but also to someday teach it herself.

“I was determined,” Parent said. “One day I was going to teach, and I was never going treat anyone that way.”

From then on, Parent was painting every chance she got.

“But you could imagine, I was always busy teaching my kids something. Or at least I hope I was!” Parent said with a laugh.

As it turned out, Parent had more than motivation — she had the talent.

Parent’s work was eventually noticed by Suzanne Caygill, the leading lady being the idea of color analysis. Caygill inspired her to learn to paint on fabrics, and of course, Parent began teaching herself the new skill right away.

“I bought some stuff and just started doing it,” she said.

Parent’s paintings done on silk are among some of her most popular works and have hung in the Pacific Design Center in California. She has also taught silk painting to others for many years.

She’s carefully stored many pieces of her life’s work where she now lives in Coeur d’Alene and shows them off with pride.

Each piece has a story to it — she can remember exactly where she drew inspiration for each painted silk.

As for her most recent watercolors, her inspiration comes from the natural beauty of North Idaho.

Many of her paintings feature a moose that has visited her yard on several occasions, as well as other wildlife and landscapes.

At 100, Parent looks back on the many chapters of her life with fondness and ceaseless positivity.

“My faith, I think, keeps me moving,” Parent said. “I’ve had my ups and downs, but I don’t let myself get down to the point that it's going to keep me from moving.”

Parent also continues to look ahead.

She hopes to get back into teaching aspiring painters and was recently commissioned to do a painting for a woman in Hayden.

“Anything I can do to keep moving,” Parent said.  

    This silk piece, painted by Parent, once hung in California's Pacific Design Center.
  

    A landscape by Marilyn Parent.
  

    A watercolor black bear by Marilyn Parent.
  

    A watercolor deer by Marilyn Parent.