About the Artist

'Femme Fatale'

I often paint with acrylics on wood panels, which I carve with high-speed routers to create greater depth and add a tactile quality to my work. With bold colors and uninhibited and expressive lines, I create movement while maintaining a careful sense of balance. My compositions range from realism to fully abstract, with the majority of my paintings being semi-abstract with a deeper message I wish to convey to the viewer.

As an artist, I have been profoundly influenced by travel. For me, the cost of travel is tuition for the best lessons life has to offer. The feeling of welcome in a foreign place, the sense of mastery in overcoming language barriers, feeling groundless and connected all in the same moment. I could not be who I am without encountering others who are different from me. Travel has opened doors within me that have forever changed the way I see the world.

I think of my artwork as both self-discovery and self-
disclosure. Many of my paintings originate from fundamental truths about human experience, such as the importance of attending to the value of time, cultivating patience with the work of transformation, or the struggle to come to terms with impermanence. My intention is to give joyous and lighthearted expression to some of life’s deeper truths. 

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Mark’s paintings have been shown in numerous galleries and shows throughout the Northwest, and he has done commission work for collectors in the U.S. and Italy. Mark lives on Whidbey Island in Washington state. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he traveled to Washington to attend Northwest University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Religion and Philosophy. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Counseling and completed all coursework for a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Utah. He is a Transitions Coach and the founder of Pathways Counseling and Hike-o-therapy.