Six Paintings Trying to be Formless
Share Love, Purple Angel, Blue Angel in a Pink Universe, Heart Centred Universe (sold), and Kitty Power (Sold)
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
under 12 x 20 cm
Marlene Yuzak
Here are six small paintings that tried to be abstract but could not help themselves from representing something. Hearts and angels have a way of arriving even when I don’t invite them. Tea cups fall into my paints. Cats walk all over me. I love to paint these things, but I think I would love to paint nothings too if I could only figure out how. You could say most of my work has a balance of representational and abstract forms. Or that I juggle recurring images into an abstract blur. Well, you can say whatever you want because it’s a free kitty power country.
Anyway . . . I am going on a sabbatical. This seems like a change of subject, but it isn’t really, you’ll see. My man won some money betting on a pony and he’s asked me to come with him on a trip. He’s going to write, and I am going to paint. For three months. That’s why its called a sabbatical. It’s like the Sabbath. Every day is Sunday, until your money runs out.
So we chose a place on Long Island, New York and rented a cottage on Gingerbread Lane. As it happens Jackson Pollock (who gets a lot of attention) and Lee Krasner (who doesn’t get enough attention) did very much the same thing. They bought their paints at an art store four doors down from ours. Is this a sign, or what?
As Frank Sinatra says about New York, if you can make it (abstract) here, you make it (abstract) anywhere.
Beautiful work, Marlene. Hello across the years and miles (I'm now in Edmonton). Nice to think of you and yours working in the Hamptons. Almost did the same thing myself last year. This year's writing retreat — from life, and my 9-5- job working in radio — will be on Hornby Island.
Hope life continues to treat you well.
-Shelley Leedahl
Sinatra also famously sang DoBeDoBeDo, which is about as abstract as singing gets, I believe. But again the abstract can't help but making itself into something – see the message? "Do" and "Be," both things sabbaticals are for, no?
Love the "kitty power"! Love it.