Drago Marelja started actively painting in 1985. It was then that his first paintings, such as Moj ded and Roša, were created. In the same year, he also had his first exhibition in Jelah. A year later, exhibitions were held in Tešnje, Teslić and Sarajevo. In 1989, he went to Berlin, where he exhibited at the LA PHANTURE gallery. In the early nineties, he went to Croatia and exhibited in Zagreb.