Marley Kaul may be one of the most devoted master painters you have not yet heard of. Or he may be an artist and a teacher-philosopher you have admired and learned from during his long life as a painter. This book serves as his final exhibition. A dazzling celebration of color and artistic expression, the retrospective presents more than 300 images of paintings created from 1961, before Kaul became an art professor, to 2021, the year he died. Kaul's body of work includes paintings rendered in acrylic, casein, oil, gouache, watercolor, and egg tempera, done on canvas, paper, and wood panels. His wife, art curator and weaver Sandra Staehle Kaul; son Stephen Kaul; and daughter, Allison Kaul DeLeone, organized this collection of artworks and writings.

The book introduces Marley Kaul by sketching his biography and his painting process. Artist Lou Ferreri offers his view of Kaul's process, observed in the days when they shared a studio at the University of Oregon. From there, the book unfolds chronologically--from mid-20th century to early 21st century--with each chapter showing paintings from particular periods. Throughout the arc of his artistic life, Kaul wrote about his paintings and his craft. Each chapter includes a number of those insights, instructions, and musings.

Marley Kaul, Paintings is a synthesis of all that he accomplished as an artist.

Marley Kaul was born in Good Thunder, Minnesota, in 1939. Growing up on a family farm, Kaul experienced the rhythms of agrarian life, which deeply influenced his artistic vision. His early interests and talents included drawing, singing in church choir, and playing basketball and baseball.

In 1962 Kaul earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary art education at Mankato State University. While there, he met art student Sandra Staehle, and they married in fall 1962. That same year, Kaul began teaching high-school art in nearby Le Sueur.

In 1964 Kaul completed a Master of Science in secondary art education at Mankato State University. He accepted a one-year teaching position at Bemidji State University, which turned into a 30-year tenure track role. He took a year's leave of absence to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in painting at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Returning to BSU in northern Minnesota, Professor Kaul inspired generations of students in painting and drawing. Continuing to create his own artworks in oil, watercolor, casein, gouache, and egg tempera, Professor Kaul was also a working artist and a role model for students.

Kaul retired at age 57 to focus entirely on painting. In his prolific painting career, he produced more than 500 works and exhibited in galleries and museums in Minneapolis and throughout the Midwest. His art celebrates the beauty of everyday life, blending natural and domestic themes with spiritual and metaphoric depth. Kaul and his wife, Sandy, published three books of his paintings-Letters to Isabella, We Sit, and For Now. Marley Kaul passed away in 2021, just as he and Sandy were beginning work on their fourth book, a comprehensive hardcover of more than 300 images documenting his 60- year painting career, from 1961 to 2021.

Along with Sandy, their son Stephen Kaul and daughter Allison Kaul DeLeone picked up the mantle to finish his last book. In this magnificent retrospective Marley Kaul Paintings and in his vibrant original works, Kaul's artistic legacy endures.

"This retrospective volume gives extraordinary insight into an extraordinary mind. As you turn the pages, you’ll see Marley’s vision changing, growing, never still, always reaching. It’s a compelling, uplifting experience wherein we feel the presence of something masterful.” —Will Weaver, Author of Sweet Land, Power & Light and other novels.

“It brought me great joy to receive the book of 60 years of Marley Kaul’s paintings. I remember seeing some of these paintings as a student of Marley's and I loved them then, and I still love them now. I find the combination of abstraction and figuration, chaos and order, stillness and movement a profound experience as a viewer. Marley was a great teacher who strove to enhance his student’s intuitive inclinations and allow them to grow. I will never forget his kindness to me and I am eternally grateful. I am very grateful for this book, and I hope everyone gets a copy, and that it brings you the same joy it brought to me.” —Doug Argue, New York City based Painter  

“This is an almost perfect book. The photos of Marley Kaul's gorgeous paintings are mesmerizing. The commentaries are informational and beautifully written. Marley's own words bring it all to life. Even though I knew him for many years, this book was a revelation and a pleasurable one. It's a treasure.” —Louise Mengelkoch, Author  

“What a remarkable book, a moving and beautiful testament to the sheer volume and vibrancy of Marley’s work. Startling in its clarity and originality, it is a most welcome addition to the lasting legacy of one of Minnesota’s true artistic treasures” —Robert Hedin, Author, co-founder of the Anderson Center

“From the cover to the final chapter, “Marley Kaul: Paintings” provides a rich visual experience that thoughtfully guides us through a chronological journey, pairing Marley’s artwork with his insightful writings. As we become witnesses to the evolution of an artist with each chapter, this seamless progression draws us in, making each chapter feel like a new discovery” —Lori Forshee-Donna, Executive Director, Watermark Art Center

“This book is a robust and beautiful accounting of Marley Kaul’s journey through his life in art. It explores stages and changes in his work, with lush images accompanied by insightful quotes and notes to bridge our understanding. Though he often works within strong compositional structures that impose clear order in his paintings, his works invariably convey a liveliness and animation that is baked into his brushstrokes, shapes, colors, and compositions. I was fortunate to be not only a student of Marley’s, but also to count him as a friend. He had a lasting impression in both regards, his clarity and friendship as lively as his paintings." — Thomas Paquette, Painter and Master Landscapist  

“The handsome and definitive new book from Mill Studio Press, Marley Kaul Paintings, is an elegant pictorial tableau full of the breath, the breathing, the thought, the embracing, the gestural reach, the compositional math and resolutions, the sounds of colors, the rounds of vibrato and texture, the spirituality, the poetry, the teaching and the resolve of a great, good man and important, genuinely honest American artist, Marley Kaul." —Lynn R Miller, Painter, Farmer, Author and the founder and publisher of the Small Farmer’s Journal  

“I think this book beautifully captures his love of color, the world around us and some of the important individual questions we all experience in our lives. Family, love, nature, our place in life, .....seeing. What is it that we see? He taught me a great deal about how to learn how to see instead of just looking.” —David Bartley, Painter and Senior Registration Technician, Walker Art Center  

"The design of the book is stunning, the choice of Kaul’s accomplished writings are well selected and placed, and, of " course, here is the artist himself. Through Marley Kaul’s stewardship of his rural land and knowledge of plants and animals he has offered metaphors about the principled practice of art and life and the changing aspects of growing and seeing. His paintings sing all the way through the book and it is hard to choose favorite works. Your choices will change from day to day.” —Craig Langager - Artist and Colleague, Sarah Clark-Langager - Former Director of Western Washington University Art Gallery and Outdoor Sculpture Collection