Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Mark admits he would struggle to find work other than painting, claiming “if I hadnt have had a talent for painting and drawing I would dread to think what I would have ended up doing as a career. The beauty of creating images that normally wouldnt exist in real life is what art means to me. Whenever I see photorealistic paintings it fills me with sadness.”

His personal approach to creating a new piece is different from most in that he works from dark to light rather than the other way around in the traditional method. Working exclusively in oils, the base for any piece is a completely black canvas, adding highlights until he is happy with the balance in contrast. He works hard at composition and at the geometry emphasising light and shadow. He also likes titles to give clues to the narrative of a piece.

Marks hugely successful musical series was a complete sell-out with his former publishers and his originals and limited editions often sold within a few days of issue. Due to the painstaking attention to detail, original paintings are in short supply leading to a high demand.