Marilee Krause – Evolving towards the Abstract

The work of Marilee Krause is a study in process and evolution.  She draws inspiration from “the land” - earth forms, ocean, trees, plant life. Using the forms and colors of nature, she produces abstracted compositions with only a reference to reality. She pushes the pastel medium as well, using a sanded paper that accommodates a wet medium for an under painting in watercolor. She will leave a stroke of pure color, or blend and incise the pigment, or rinse it off to expose lower layers. She stays open to explore the development of the piece during the process of its creation. Having long since learned the rules and the techniques, she keeps a looseness in the final paintings and avoids any formula

Speaking of Marilee Krause’s paintings in a recent group exhibit, the Art Critic, Josef Woodard says, “the subtlest on view are the coastal watercolor and pastel pieces by Marilee Krause. Their delicacy has the disarming tendency to invite our perusal, like and eloquent whisper in the cranny of a party. In pale hues and washes, Krause depicts the wetland grasses and between-zones where sea meets sand and leaves its shimmery residue. It's all vague and vaporous, in a persuasive way."