As
a Canadian contemporary artist, Marilyn S. Mylrea, enjoys the
freedom of creativity through various themes including contemporary
portraiture, contemporary masks, contemporary spiritual art, contemporary
sensual art, figurative art, contemporary angelic art, mystical
art, landscape art, floral art, representational art, abstract
art and contemporary expressionism.
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Contemporary
Portraiture |
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I
have explored contemporary portraiture because the face represents
humanity and individuality. I find faces fascinating and enjoy
representing many different emotional, spiritual and psychological
states. I have admired Rembrandt's amazing expressions of the
human spirit in his beautiful portraits and Van Gogh's powerful
depictions of humanity. I deeply appreciate the portraiture of
Tony Sherman and his commanding imagery. I have shown many different
races and cultures in my portraits as I appreciate the grace and
beauty of all races, ages and cultures. I think the power of portraiture
is depicted best in my paintings First
Nation Eyes and Wise
Woman.
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Contemporary
Masks |
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I
have seen many masks from my extensive travels to other countries
and I collect masks. I find masks to be enchanting and enigmatic.
I enjoy including mask imagery into my paintings because I find
the aspects of illusion compared to reality to be intriguing.
All cultures have explored mask making. It has been an ancient
rite and I feel that masks can be extremely spiritual and enlightening.
I think my painting entitled Sorrow's
Ancient Mask best exemplifies the energy of wisdom and spirituality
that masks can evoke. There is a wonderful mystical mystery surrounding
masks.
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Contemporary
Spiritual Art |
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I
believe that all great art is spiritual art. I paint so that I
can express my spirit and because I have been called to do so.
I believe that we are all given a divine purpose to be here and
that mine is to paint. I also believe that the eternal world is
the spiritual world. I love Michelangelo's universally profound
imagery of depictions from the Bible. One of the most basic traditional
reasons for creating art has been to express religious beliefs
and rituals. My paintings are contemporary in style and they are
all very spiritual. Yet, some reflect this more obviously such
as Angelic
Soul and Divine
Woman.
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Contemporary
Sensual Art |
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I
have explored sensuality in my art because it is an important
part of the human experience. Our spirits live in physical bodies
and we are privileged to enjoy our senses. Sight, sound, touch,
taste and smell are our ways to feel the world. I believe in sensuality,
sexuality and the beauty of the body. I also believe in love and
passion. The figure and love have been powerful themes for many
artists including Rubens and Rodin. In my sensual paintings, The
Lovers and Soulful
Kiss, I've tried to show this passion and sensuality. It is
one of the most beautiful aspects of love and life.
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Figurative
Art |
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Figurative
art is a wonderful expression of humanity. It touches the human
experience at our most primal levels. We are figures and we relate
to each other through "body language" more so than speech. Therefore,
each hand gesture tells its own story. Throughout art history,
the figure has fascinated artists and it has also been a most
challenging subject to do technically. I have been strongly influenced
by Michelangelo's magnificent figures and the Pre-Raphaelites.
I feel that my figurative paintings Death's
Sacred Peace and Entering
The Light reflect a sweet, serene beauty onto the figure.
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Contemporary
Angelic Art |
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I
have painted angels many times because I believe in the spiritual
world and the divinity of angels. Angels are special messengers
sent to help, guide and teach humanity. They symbolize an enlightened
level of spirituality. I have included them as crying images in
my paintings entitled September
11th, The Day The Angels Cried - Despair and September
llth, The Day The Angels Cried - Hope. I have shown them as
a powerful celestial being in my painting Peaceful
Passion's Flaming Angel and as a soft, sweet soul in my painting
Blue Angel.
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Contemporary
Mystical Art |
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The
mystical aspects in my art are done because they evoke mystery,
beauty and spirituality. I enjoy many cultures and exotic, sensual
imagery. Mystical actually refers to secrets, and therefore it
alludes to secret, sacred rituals as in many ancient cultures.
In my paintings Shaman
Soaring and Mystical
Woman I've tried to reflect this mysterious, mystical and
spiritual realm.
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Landscape
Art |
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Landscape
painting has been a common subject for artists, and especially
Canadian artists. I initially avoided this theme because it had
such a strong association to Canadian art, and I wanted to show
faces and figures. However, I have surrendered to the beauty of
nature and now feel that I must paint it. In my painting Tranquility
I have tried to express the sacred quality of the sky, water and
land. I have been most influenced by the work of Lawren Harris
whom I have deeply admired.
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Floral
Art |
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The
beauty of floral art, flowers and gardens is a somewhat new subject
for me. I think I was afraid to paint them at the beginning of
my career because they were associated with a soft feminine style,
and I wanted my work to be strong. I no longer feel this way and
wish to depict the amazing splendor of flowers. They are life
at its fullest and most vibrant. I have tried to show this in
my floral art entitled Splendid
Spring and Tenderness
in Flowers.
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Representational
Art |
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I
have chosen to do representational art (which means that it represents
something) because I like the power of images. I have also tried
to combine two styles, expressionism and realism together. This
has been challenging because I've wanted to show an image, yet
I've also wanted to distort it for the sake of expressionism.
In my representational art enitlted Dancing
the Song of Death with David, I feel that I have achieved
the right balance of these two styles.
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Abstract
Art |
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In
the beginning of my artistic education, I was instructed to do
abstracts. It was good training, despite the fact that I later
had to study anatomy, when I wanted to do figurative work. My
early abstract art gave me a strong sense of colour, line, shape,
texture and the beauty of composition. They allowed me to explore
the world of art without imagery. I would like to incorporate
some of the freedom of my abstract art back into my current work.
I think my abstract art entitled Myself
and Black Chaos show
the beauty of this style.
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Contemporary
Expressionism |
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I
enjoy showing dramatic and emotional imagery. Therefore, contemporary
expressionism has always been a powerful style for me. I have
been influenced by Edvard Munch's work and German artists such
as Max Beckmann. I have also greatly admired the work of Kathe
Kollowitz and Betty Goodwin. I have tried to show the beauty of
contemporary expressionism in my paintings Female
Blues and Blazing
Dance.
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