Marlys was born in rural northern Saskatchewan in a town that didn't even have an actual name and grew up in the remote town of Loon Lake. She studied English and Fine Arts at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, and then studied education and begain a teaching position in New Brunswick, Canada. After teaching for several years she left to pursue her art full time. During this time she was actively involved in Sunbury Shores gallery in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and the Eastport Art Gallery in Eastport, Maine.

Today she maintaings a studio in rural Maine with her husband Laurent and their son, a university student. In addition to her art, she has interests in environmental activism, photography and antiques.