Like many artists, I began drawing and painting as a child. And like my children now, I was a precocious young artist. In high school I found I could capture a fairly good likeness of my friends in pencil. My parents supplied me with watercolor and oil paints to encourage my early efforts. Through my twenties and early thirties I was preoccupied by my pursuit of the "American dream". I met a wonderful woman and together we discovered the thrills of the great outdoors. We spent years hiking, rockclimbing and skiing together. I forgot about art during those years, channeling my creative impulses into taking pictures and playing my guitar.
For 25 years I supported myself in the printing
industry. In 1999 I reluctantly came to the realization
it was not the ideal career for
someone with a creative mind. I worked my way through technical
college and began a career as a Web Designer right before
the bottom fell out of the Internet business. One has to
have a sense of humor in these hard times, and while jobs
are scarce, I have been pleased to find that my creative
mind, and eye for color and design are a great asset in
high tech. After getting laid off from my job in Web Design
in January, 2002, I began doing freelance web design as
well as teaching at a technical college where I now also
teach drawing.
My wife and I bought a house back in 1983
when prices were still affordable and in it we are raising
two children, Lisa - 16,
and Clint - 19. In 1989 my father faced a life threatening
illness and I began to think of my own mortality. Those
thoughts led me to taking up my pencil and charcoal again
for the first time in 15 years.
Over the last fifteen years I have established
a reputation as a landscape painter, winning a number of
awards and honors in Puget Sound area juried art shows.
I am primarily self taught. Most of my learning has been
trial and error although studying art books in the library,
and touring local museums and galleries has given me many
ideas.
I believe the struggle to paint from life, whether in landscape or still life, lends honesty and character to my work. I love to capture the play of light and shadow over my subject in vine charcoal and white pastel. I then use the versatility of pastel to go beyond form into vibrant, complementary colors, creating paintings that, in the words of my collectors,"jump off the walls."
Many of my artist friends find that the studio is the place to create art. Perhaps it is my love of the outdoors or just the chaos of my garage/studio, but I have found that I do my best work on location. I have stood painting for hours in very unfavorable locations, such as on the shoulder of the road above a high cliff on the Oregon coast highway in 20 knots of wind, or in a meadow up at Mt. Rainier in sweltering heat and clouds of mosquitoes. Painting on location in the city has turned out to be easier than I feared. An artist working on the sidewalk is so unusual most people walk by as if I were invisible.
Due to the relative shortness of our time
on earth many of us want to savor what little beauty we
find amongst the asphalt. This urge to slow down and provide
time for reflection is what drives artists and photographers
alike. I have often thought of my painting backpack full
of paints, paper and a lightweight easel as a 300 year old
camera with a 4 hour exposure time and a six year learning
curve. When I am out painting on location, hikers and tourists,
often wearing cameras, will occasionally stop and admire
my work. They lament their inability to draw. I never know
what to say. Drawing can, and should, be taught like reading
and writing, but the ability to paint collectable art is
harder to explain...it may be a gift. Life is short, Art
is long.
Mark Webster, November, 2004.
Selected Exhibits and Awards
2002 |
Northwest Pastel Society Annual, Harbor
Gallery, Gig Harbor |
2001 |
Featured artist, Kimball Espresso Gallery,
Gig Harbor |
1998 |
One man show, Tahoma Gallery, Catholic Community
Services, Tacoma |
1998 |
2 person show with Myrna Orsini, Huff Gallery,
Tacoma |
1993 to 2005 |
State of the Arts Gallery, Olympia |
1993 to 1997 |
Pacific Gallery Artists "Open" |
1996 |
Honorable Mention South Sounds Commencement Gallery,
Tacoma |
1995 |
Tacoma First Night |
1995 |
The Land, Tacoma
Art Museum |
1995 |
Pandora's Box Gallery, Gig Harbor |
1993 to 1995 |
Northwest Pastel Society Annual, Amy Burnett Gallery |
1995 |
Honorable Mention,
Seattle Telco Bank |
1994 |
Honorable Mention, Sidney Museum, Port Orchard |
1991 to 1996 |
Second, Third
and Honorable Mention, Puyallup Fair |
1991 to 1993 |
Second and Fifth, Southwest Washington Exhibition,
State Capitol Museum, Olympia |
NOTE: this is my old site and is no longer maintained. My new site is here.
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