Unisons

"Sedona couple combines realism, abstraction in collaborative format"

Being married, Sedona oil painters Marlys Mallet and Michael Redhawk are used to working together. They often critique each other's work. They even work at home within the same studio space. But they haven't worked within the same on-canvas boundaries. After all, Marlys is an abstract painter, and Michael paints realism. That is, until now.

Marlys and Michael have begun collaborating ~ each using his and her own creative style ~ within the same works of art. Seems to be a contradiction, abstraction and realism both within the confines of a single canvas. But the couple has found a way to combine their individual talents and visions.

Marlys creates abstract borders around Michael's realistic images. The strips of gold leaf actually create a frame creating boundaries for the subject without containing it. Parts of the realistic image actually overlap into the abstract border. Marlys and Michael explained that the borders serve as echoes of the subject. (The artists) were able to expand the scene into the space around it, creating a new "peripheral vision" on canvas. "In painting nature one has to stop the scene at some point," Michael said. "In this format, we can focus on the main theme, yet not stop the flow."
Philip Wright, "Kudos" - Nov 2005


2008 Arbor Series
Live Oak	Monterey Cypress	Ponderosa Pine	Monterey Pine SOLD	Pine

Navajo Gold	Romancing the Storm SOLD	Sedona Gold
Water Sprite Oceano de Oro	Glory of the Wetlands Monterey Magic	Beaver Creek Crescendo SOLD Viridian Pool