Print Available
Original For Sale
Received Award
Creative Carnival 2011
The first ever Creative Carnival in New York City was a night out that showed a great time to all who attended. What started out a cold rainy evening in the city warmed up quickly as the party took off. Mark was one of the guest illustrators that demonstrated his live drawing skills by capturing the colorful burlesque models on hand in quick charcoal sketches.
What did you miss? Let's just say it was a crazy infusion of drag queen cocktail waitresses that could hold the front line of the New York Giants football team. Oh, and who could forget the array of contortionists, sword swallowers, pasty twirling show girls and all the art you could possibly handle.
The party was a joint effort of The Workbook and The Art Director's Club, located at their home base. Kudos to the duo hosting a fantastic night that generated stimulating conversation and proved again the intrigue of illustration. There is already talk of a repeat event in 2012. Be sure to catch the next one so you'll have plenty of stories for the water cooler.
Mark sketching live burlesque models for the crowd
New Mural Installation
Assignments generally come from major metropolitan areas but in this instance a local business was looking for an artist to create an on-site mural. Firefly Farms is an organic artisan goat's milk cheese manufacturer that began in a neighboring Maryland town. Owners Pablo and Michael recently opened their first retail location in the downtown area not far from the original farm. The company has grown and now distributes to restaurants and major grocers, including Whole Foods.
The owners commissioned Mark to create a mural indicative of early French Poster Art. Mark grabbed onto the idea and echoed the style with decorative borders and flowing elements. "As soon the direction was suggested, I knew how I wanted it to look", stated Mark. His concept was to create an image that would suggest a fable of how Firefly Farms goat's cheese is made. The implications are vague so the viewer can interpret the painting in a more personal way. The main element is the milk maiden who is lovingly cradling a baby goat in her hands. She is emerging up from a river of goat's milk being poured by the farm hand. Your imagination can run wild with what it all means. "I mostly was interested in setting a tone for the environment of the shop. I thought it should feel welcoming and sentimental since the product is hand-made and definitely one of the finer things in life", says Mark.
The artwork was done in watercolor and sepia ink, in three panels measuring roughly 60" in length. It was then scanned and stitched together to be reproduced at a whopping 21 feet in length. "There was no doubt I was concerned about the image fitting the wall during the installation. Even though I measured three times, there's always that question of it fitting", Mark explains. The mural was printed on a self adhesive matt coated vinyl that has a very low luster. The installation was successful and fit to within 1/4" from end to end. The installer was also relieved. 
This was Mark's first commission for such a project. He's painted an outdoor mural before but was not a fan of the experience. He prefers the comfort of the studio to create art. With the technology available today, Mark hopes this will be the trend to decorating interior spaces with art.
Pictured above top: Installed mural reproduction
above bottom: original assembled art.
Magic Decks Are Hitting The Shelves
It was a long time coming, but the Summer of 2010 proved to be fruitful. David Blaine and Mark worked on a set of three packages for a series of magic decks. The hope was to produce a product that would have good retail appeal which was confirmed when Walmart made the decision to carry the set in time for 2011 Christmas sales.
"It was a labor of love", explains Mark. "We worked and worked on coming up with images that would give each package a unique appearance, yet carry a family feel." Mark designed the coarsely textured packages and typography around his illustrations. The U.S. Playing Card Co. then adapted his designs to fit their signature "BICYCLE" masthead. David was very instrumental in the final look of each of the decks. He contributed both conceptually and esthetically on the final product. The collaboration of several months yielded a product that should play well in Walmart's everywhere.
Inside the boxes are the original Split Spades decks, yet another collaboration of David and Mark. There is also a magic instruction book with easy to follow directions to amaze the onlooker. "I tried the tricks myself and they were incredibly easy to learn, yet really astonishing", Mark said. "I dabbled in magic as a kid, but had terrible performance anxiety. These decks would really help the nervous magician feel more confident. The decks are top quality and easy to work with."
decks are also available at www.davidblaine.com.
Young Artist's Workshop
Once again, Laura and assistant Jillian Mazur, lead students between ages 13 and 17 at the Young Artist's Workshop. The program began in 1998 as part of an effort to expose youths to the arts. The workshop has maintained a strong interest and attracts students from around the country. Since it's based in scenic Western Maryland, vacationers may schedule their stay around their child attending the workshop. The curriculum Laura has developed focuses on teaching budding artists to think academically about representing the world around them through their art form. She gives them the tools to express their observations without fear. The main objective is to develop mastery rather than "masterpieces". Once students learn the basics, they can expound on their own with greater confidence.
Some of the fundamental projects include drawing and color theory. They learn to mix colors successfully with accuracy and a better understanding pigment, value and color temperature. Once the students grasp the basics, they move on to a group project where each child has a portion of a larger work. They work as a team while learning from their classmates as well as Laura. Together, they feel less pressure to produce an individual piece but put their efforts toward the greater whole.
The team project is also applied to a black and white project rendered in charcoal. The students that feel stronger in drawing than painting have a chance to strut their stuff. The scale of the final drawing covers an entire wall and is a surprise until it's assemble at the end. Sometimes the students can guess where it's going, but the impact is always a hit with the students and parents at the weeks-end gallery show.
After four days of hard work, the students gather up their art and put together a gallery show for parents and the public. They have a chance to share what they and their classmates have learned through the week.
