Drawing is the fundamental basis of art for Mark.  From his early days at art school, drawing the human form was a central tenet to his learning.  The reason Mark applied and went to the Royal Academy Schools was that in the first term, all students had to work from the model every day.  His passion for pencil and charcoal drawing extended more recently to pastels.  Mark loves the immediacy of applying the colour with different size sponges on quality pastel paper.

 

Mark was a candidate to become a Royal Academician as a print-maker.  He was acclaimed for having his work accepted to the Summer Exhibition for over twenty years and was chosen and nominated by a large number of other Royal Academicians.  Renowned art historian and Times art critic Frank Whitford, described Mark’s nude prints as “technically amazing”.  Mark continues to print from his studio, recently working more on mezzotints.  He etches on copper using soft-ground, hard-ground and dry-point techniques, sometimes with the addition of aqua tints.

 

Mark’s love of drawing is a continuous theme but after visiting India, to truly capture the vibrancy of the country and its people, colour was a necessity.  Following that need, Mark’s passion for painting developed across all his subject matter.  Mark uses not only canvas and board, but also paints on copper working on the back of old etching plates which allows the sheen of the copper to add an extra lustre as the patina shows through. Following art historically traditional methods dating back to medieval times, Mark will prepare the copper using an abrasive, then rubbing with garlic to improve adhesion and prevent the oxidation of the copper.