Expanding Horizons IV Painting

I thoroughly enjoy an airplane window seat. I enjoy viewing the lush and textured earth surfaces divided into the functionally derived, topographical patchwork quilt of human endeavors. I love the exquisite line of an old meandering stream that is contrasted by the geometry of a farm field edge or a dark and slick winding road. And oddly, I delight in seeing bodies of water trapped inside hurricane walls or inside in enormous agricultural boundaries. There is a tension that comes from these opposing visual elements that is strikingly contradictory, and also intriguing, dynamic and beautiful to me. My challenge in my Coalescence Series is bringing these diametrically opposed elements together and helping them to coalesce into unique and unified abstract compositions. .................................................................................. Artists Statement ...... I’ve been very fortunate as an artist in that I’ve never had to live off my art sales, being a teacher and a coach. That has freed me to take artistic directions I have desired. I haven’t had to bend to popular trends, color schemes or other public demands. Through this I’ve learned to develop my own artistic voice without the marketplace coming between me and it. I’ve been influenced by several painters, mostly Abstract Expressionists. I’ve enjoyed Barnett Newman‘s Zip Paintngs, where the central active stripe depicts the present moment. I’ve also enjoyed Mark Rothkos’s long series of meditative pieces (that were inspired visually I believe, by the glow of a 1950s television tube being turned off in a dark room.) I’ve also been inspired by Frank Stella‘s later work that consists of randomly juxtaposed patterns and textures painted on thick aluminum surfaces that once assembled make up large, 3-D while reliefs. I find his work extraordinarily creative and courageous.... Biography.—— Mark was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a youth he enjoyed drawing and playing sports. Through high school and college he competed on several gymnastics teams. In 1972 he graduated from UW-La-Crosse with a BS Degree in Art Education, under Dr. Dale Kendrick. He married his college sweetheart Carol in 1973, while teaching art and coaching gymnastics at a high school outside of Milwaukee.