Growing up in Colorado Mark was influenced by the surrounding majestic beauty and serenity of the Rocky Mountains. As a high school student who represented Colorado in a national competition, Mark went on to win the national Gold Key Award. Following his fine arts studies at the University of Denver he moved to Montana enthralled by his love of Western painting. Mark spent the next 15 years working on ranches, painting and drawing Western life.

In pursuit of new subject matter, Mark’s family moved to Mount Vernon, Washington in 1989. Living in the Skagit Valley give Mark the chance to capture a sense of place, and the best of what nature’s beauty has to offer. Mark chooses to paint places people have been before, and wish to return again.