Lyne Marshall is a contemporary Australian artist who has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas. At an Art Fair in Shanghai in 2003, she stood in front of a painting by an acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist, Zhou Changjiang. His painting projected something elusive and when she later visited his studio, she unexpectedly felt it again. She says of this encounter 'I was put into a spin, something in that art came out and touched me and left me breathless and tearful. I didn't know what it was! But I wanted it for my work.' It sent Lyne on a journey of discovery and her current paintings now have a spiritual, contemplative edge that exude life and energy, not unlike traditional Asian painting.

Marshall's  book ' Gleaner or Gladiator: the struggle to create' is a result of over 5 years research into these creative processes that artist encounter and is a personal narrative of her struggle to step into the creative flow. The purpose of this book, Lyne says, is to reach out to others who need inspiration and the confidence to be creative and follow their hearts. The book also showcases her contemporary landscape paintings from 2005 to 2007 and photography from the environment that inspired the work. Although elements of nature invade Marshall's art, especially skies, these are far from realistic works. They are instead, imaginary landscapes that have many perspectives. For artworks to be authentic Lyne believes they need to have an altruistic purpose and slowly evolve. Finding this reason for creating she says requires some soul searching. ' During my university art training, I was directed away from what my heart was saying. This may have been necessary to break the rigid mould I was in at the time, but until I found myself again, I was lost for many years'. Constant searching for answers finally paid off, but Lyne feels the journey is still unfolding.Her book Gleaner or Gladiator: the struggle to create,is an honest energetic account of her discoveries, and the ups and downs of being creative, but it ultimately  about the joy of art.