About Me

Hi, I’m Mark.

I am a visual artist based in London, UK. I am self-taught with a life-long love of both painting and drawing.

My work aims to tell stories and to ask questions. Although a frozen instant in time, my images prompt the viewer to look beyond the present moment. How did this happen? What happens next? My art is inspired by the natural world and how we engage with it. In today’s technology obsessed world, we are in danger of forgetting our metaphorical and literal roots in nature. I hope to investigate our relationship to the natural world and try to express its depths and mystery in my art. What lies beneath the surface, and how can we lead more authentic lives?

In the past I have experimented with acrylics, oils, graphite, and even linocuts, but as soon as I started playing with pastels, I knew that this was a medium I wanted to get to know better. Today I work primarily with a limited palette of pastel pencils on sanded paper. Pastel pencils are extremely high in pigment and this helps to produce artwork that glows with intense luminous colours. I aim to produce vivid, harmonious pieces that invite the viewer to enter worlds that are familiar, yet dream-like. 

There is some debate about whether a work in pastel is called a “drawing” or a “painting.” The Tate Museum, for one, calls them pastel drawings, but for me, the latter term - pastel painting - is the more useful one. I use silicone shaper brushes as well as pencils, and when finished, some of my pieces are often mistaken for acrylic or oil paintings. So therefore throughout this site my work will be referred to as paintings. 

A bit of background…

I have not always been a professional artist. Growing up my love of art was balanced by a love of science. Academically, science won out and art began to take a back seat. I pursued physics academically to degree level and this was followed by over 25 years working in high-tech companies as a software engineer and manager. However, in my spare time, I was always painting and drawing and even developing software to digitally emulate art created with natural media. 

Eventually I became completely disillusioned working for big-tech and so threw in the towel to focus on my journey as a professional artist. 

And here I am!