Margaret von Biesen hails from Washington State where she received a B.A. in Fine Arts, began graduate work and taught painting. Relocating to Los Angeles in the mid seventies, von Biesen fell in with the early punk music and theatre scenes, documenting through photography many bands, productions and personalities such as Xene and John Doe of X.

A fulltime painter for the last 15 years, von Biesen’s training in abstract expressionism contributes strongly to her style. By combining a figurative vocabulary with her vibrant sense of color, her paintings contain depth, power and an endearing sensitivity.

“What Fresh Heaven Is This” is a new direction and series for von Biesen. Mainly known for her portrayals of dogs and cats often set in inviting interiors, we now see men and women in these scenes. Interesting juxtapositions of a painting within a painting paired with a figure in the foreground create interesting plays of uncertain relations. There is always a story behind every painting but von Biesen’s lures you to make up your own, and allows you to change it day to day!

Commissioned from collectors across the nation for her pet portraits, von Biesen has a unique ability to capture the personality of dogs and cats, first in reference photos then translated through paint and canvas. They are truly remarkable, uplifting and inspiring. von Biesen was selected for inclusion in the “Best of California Painters” 2006-2007.