Mark Yee Framed Oil and Enamel Painting on Canvas Skyscape

Chicago artist Mark Yee, Framed oil and enamel on canvas board "Skyscape". Small chip in the frame, please see photo. My abstract paintings are autobiographical.

A first generation Chinese-American, I lived a life scripted by others and by the expectations of those around me. I ran my life according to those scripts and the real picture of me was buried beneath. My paintings have dozens or hundreds of layers of paint.

I scrape and sand the surface to find the colors buried beneath the surface. But then I find myself adding more paint and the colors are buried once again in a cycle of adding and scraping. The proces is compulsive and freeing at the same time.

I strive to reveal the story that was there all the time, just below the surface. What viewers see is a highly textured surface reminiscent of a weathered barn.

When viewers take a step back, they often see vistas that remind them of landscapes and seascapes and most recently, perhaps see traces of my Chinese heritage. When I look at my paintings close-up, I find that traces of each layer do remain, like a thought etched into memory or like a scar written on the heart. My paintings are complete when the frenetic energy resolves itself and the layers merge and meld across the length and width of the entire canvas, telling a chapter of my story.