Marlene Harold was born on Mt Florence Station in the Millstream Tablelands. She began her schooling in Nullagine and Marble Bar, finishing her education in Roebourne when her family was moved to the Roebourne Reserve. She has one son, two brothers and a sister.

Marlene started painting late in 2006 at Yinjaa-Barni Art, taking a TAFE short course in art and design. An active participant in class with a witty sense of humour, she also quickly revealed herself to be a promising painter.

Marlene likes painting the native grasses and plants, the ancestral sites and stories that come from her country around the Millstream Tablelands in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. One of her chief subjects is the creation story according to Yindjibarndi law, called Ngurru Nyujunnggama – When the World was Soft. When the creation spirits, the Marrga, arose from the ground they raised the sky and the world out of the ocean. They first gave names and form to the country and then to all the birds and animals. Finally they created the Ngaardangarli, the Aboriginal people. In the early morning, the mist over the water is known to be the smoke from the Marrga’s breakfast fires, and it is this delicate mist rising over the water and the fine Pilbara grasses that is one of Marlene’s favourite subjects.

Marlene moves with ease between methods of applying paint to express her depictions of country and has a particularly delicate way of mixing and layering colour that differentiates her from her fellow Pilbara artists. She has quickly become a highly sought-after and collectable artist, and was greatly honoured when one of her paintings was chosen to be presented to Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Australia in 2011.