"Wetlands"
Series
Life arose in the waters of the Earth and first wriggled to shore through the wetlands. These areas of equipoise-half water, half dry land-are the capillaries that filter our rivers and streams while providing nourishment to the plants and animals. The act of painting these fragile areas brings me closer to an understanding of our own brief time on this planet. This series is a work-in-progress.
(Paintings are acrylic on canvas unless otherwise noted.)
 "I, Southern Bay" (30” x 40”) |
 "II, Bayou," (36”x 36”) |
 "III, Estuary" (48” x 48”) |
 "IV, Basin" (42” x 48”) |
 "V, Outer Banks" (48” x 36”) |
 "VI, Tributary" (40x 30”) |
 "VII, Fiord" (40” x 30”) |
 "VIII, Lake Country" (30” x 40”) |
 "IX, Coastal Plain" (14” x 11”) |
 "X, Confluence" (14” x 11”) |
 "XI, Fountainhead" (27” x 22”) |
 "XII, Virgin Spring" (30” x 22”) |
"Provenance"
Series
As I visited the home of a dying friend, his wife gave me a beautiful stone from her collection. I started painting a likeness of this rock on a small 6” by 3” canvas, somehow lessening the loss. September 11, 2001, then exploded upon our lives and I gathered more rocks from my gardens and kept expanding the image blending one piece of earth with another. I looked in wonder when they were finally hung as a many faceted portrait of a river of humanity had emerged. Murray’s Rock is located in the upper left corner of the “Detail (lower right)” shown below.
(This series consists of 19 canvases ranging in size from 4” x 4” to 24” x 36”. The overall dimension as installed is 48” x 69”. The heavy impasto was created using acrylic, rock, sand, vermiculite and steel particles.)
 Full Provenance Series |
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 Detail (upper left) |
 Detail (upper right) |
 Detail (lower left) |
 Detail (lower right) |
"Fragments"
Series
After finishing the “Diversion Series”, I still lacked any passion for painting. My friends and family kept encouraging me to paint and I started covering my canvases with one pure color blended into another. After months of this meditation I was able to incorporate a suggestion of a woman’s figure. The addition of the words explained some of the basic elements of design that I was thinking about while working. As my emotional state gradually normalized, the colors brightened and the figures stretched. I spent three years going through this process. It was a very emotional moment when I first saw the series exhibited as an installation.
(This series consists of 15 acrylic on canvas paintings
40” in height.
The majority are 30” in width but range in width from 2” to
60”.)
 Fragments Series at a recent show | |||
 "I, Color" |
 "II, Value" |
 "III, Intensity" |
 "IV, Texture" |
 "IVa, Balance" |
 "V, Line" |
 "VI, Space" |
 "VII, Shape" |
 "VIII, Rhythm" |
 "IX, Harmony" |
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"Diversion"
Series
A few month's after my husband's untimely death in July 1999, I found myself completely unable to paint. I had lost my muse for the first time in my life. When I finally returned to work in May 2000, I simplified my composition, going back to the basics of color, line, shape, depth and composition. I added scrapings of dry paint from my palette and those of my friends to acylic and ink, using the shapes and marking of tools to represent fun activities.
(acrylic/ink on canvas.)
 "I, Boat Ride" (18" x 24") |
 "II, Dance" (18" x 24") |
 "III, Circus" (18" x 24") |
 "IV, Santa Monica Pier" (18" x 24") |
"McGroartyTable"
Series
A piece from this series appeared in the January, 1998 issue of the "Coagula Art Journal." The editor described my process..."in this series, the paintings are based on abstractions of a table covered with paint remnants from decades of student use at a local art center in Tujunga, California. In each work she painted a replica of a newspaper photograph. Some of its surrounding script, or caption was then collaged about the painting, now a sort-of painting-within-a-painting." In this way, I combined figurative current events of the day with aged abstract vestiges of the making of art.
(mixed media on canvas.)
 The tabletop that inspired this series |
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 "II, Over the Top" (18" x 24") |
 "III, Frieda" (18" x 24") |
 "IV, Behind the Scenes" (18" x 24") |
 "V, Flight" (18" x 24") |
 "VI, Icon" (18" x 24") |
 "VII, The Dream" (18" x 24") |
 "VIII, Finley Times Too" (36" x 40") |
 "IX, Split Image" (36" x 40") |
 "XI, Cupid and Physics" (15-3/4" x 20") |
 "XII, Skying" (18" x 24") |
 "XIII, First Take" (40" x 30") |
 "XIV, Animal Farm" (36" x 48") |
 "XV, The Immoralist" (40" x 30") |
 "XVI, Another Direction" (37" x 49") |
 "XVII, Tete-a-Tete" (48” x 48”) |
"Working Woman"
Series
In 1997, my husband needed me to spend more time than I wanted working on the books in his law office. When I went to painting workshops, I took along the clothes I would change into when I left for the office. After awhile I began painting the dresses as they hung on hangers. The fifth in this series represents a vacation from work in Hawaii.
(mixed media on canvas.)
 "I, Black Linen" (40" x 30") |
 "II, Black and White Linen" (40" x 30") |
 "III, Blue Denim" (40" x 30") |
 "IV, Red Cotton" (40" x 30") |
 "V, Yellow Silk" (30" x 40") |
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"Time-Line"
Series
These collage and acrylic paintings explore the past, present and future. The river of life is present throughout and the image of a woman emerges gradually. Completed in the mid-nineties, the future has now become the present.
(mixed media on canvas.)
 "I, Ariadne's Clew" (20" x 24") |
 "II, Headwaters of Lachesis" (18" x 24") |
 "III, Clotho's Awakening" (18" x 24") |
 "IV, Thread of Atropos" (20" x 24") |
"Angels"
Series
These simplified "drawings" are painted with acrylic on small canvases depicting angels in classic poses.
(acrylic on 8” x 10” canvases.)
 "I" |
 "II" |
 "III" |
 "IV" |
 "V" |
 "VI" |
 "VII" |
 "VIII" |
"Assorted Pieces"
 "Integration at Central High" (24” x 24” Acrylic on Canvas) |
 "Tulsa, A Study of a Girl" (36” x 48” mixed media on five canvases.) |
 "Legacy" (22" x 30" charcoal/acrylic wash on canvas.) |
 "Mr. Anderson Brooks" (28” x 20” Ink and Collage on Paper) |
 "Ritual" (24" x 24" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Georgia's Lily" (30” x 22 acrylic on paper.) |
 "Topanga" (24" x 30" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "February Foliage" (22”x 30” Watercolor on Paper) |
 "Madonna of Soweto" (30” x 22” Watercolor on Paper) |
 "Feral Organisms" (30" x 40" acrylic/graphite on canvas.) |
 "Song of Sarajevo" (50" x 90" mixed media on five canvases-framed.) |
 "Atelier" (40" x 40" mixed media on canvas. Collaboration with M. Rheuban. |
 "Encroachment" (28” x 36” Acrylic on Canvas) |
 "More Trouble" (30" x 40" mixed media on canvas.) |
 "Sepulveda Basin" (36" x 48" mixed media on canvas - acrylic. Collaboration with M. Rheuban.) |
 "Architecture" (30" x 24" mixed media on canvas.) |
 "Leonis Adobe" (24" x 18" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Leonis Adobe Arbor" (18" x 24" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Marathon De Los Angeles" (20" x 24" mixed media on canvas.) |
 "Bather" (23-1/2" x 17-1/2" charcoal and collage on paper.) |
 "Connection" (40" x 30" mixed media-acrylic on canvas. Collaboration with M. Rheuban.) |
 "Reclining Nude" (18” x 24” Watercolor on Canvas) |
 "McGroarty Fountain, Rose" (18”x 24” Acrylic on Canvas) |
 "McGroarty Fountain, Lily" (18” x 24” Acrylic on Canvas) |
 "Cadence" (30" x 40" mixed media on canvas, framed.) |
 "Learning Curve" (40" x 30" acrylic on canvas - with graphite.) |
 "The Doll Festival" (36" x 36" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Canyon Light" (20" x 16" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Pygmalion" (36" x 24" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Tejon Pass" (30" x 40" acrylic and crayon on canvas.) |
 "Conquest" (30” x 40” Mixed Media on Canvas) |
 "Gordian Knot" (40" x 30" acrylic on canvas.) |
 "Restoration" (30" x 40" mixed media on canvas.) |
 "Horizon" (36” x 48” Acrylic and Ink on Canvas) |
 "Direction" (11" x 14" mixed media on canvas.) |
 "Through the Edge" (24" x 36" mixed media on canvas.) |
 "Woods Pond" (24” x 24” Watercolor on Canvas) |
 "Muse" (30" x 40" mixed media on canvas-framed.) |
All images and artworks are the property of Marylyn English,
©2003
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