Mark Collins - Artist Statement

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Art has been a lifelong experience for me. I began my artistic journey as a young child where I would sketch people and attempt to recreate logos of my favorite sports teams; it just came naturally. It was in high school when I first considered being an artist to earn a living. During my junior year in high school I attended Saturday art school at the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA). This was my first experience in meeting and learning from real professional artists. I was hooked. During my final year in high school I focused on creating my portfolio, which earned me a scholarship to the PCA (now University of the Arts). I went on to earn a Bachelors of Fine Arts from UArts.

 

Early in my career I focused on commercial and fine art. My career has been vast and diverse. A few of my experiences have been producing commissioned portraits and exhibiting in Pennsylvania and New Jersey art galleries. I’ve been a Graphic Designer for Pep Boys, Warner Brothers and Fox TV stations, an Art Therapist for a NJ mental health center, and an Art Instructor at the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

 

Although I dedicated many years to the burgeoning emergence of digital art in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, I am re-exploring the gratifying rewards of traditional art. Currently I’m pursuing images that have a sense of peace and tranquility; harmonious with nature. Yet, there are concepts that I ponder now that explore bold statements of societal issues. I utilize pastel, charcoal, pencil, watercolor and acrylics as my mediums of choice as I attempt to fuse hints of life experiences along with knowledge of composition, concept, color, texture and mood into my images. Soon, some of my fine art will make their way into graphic design applications such as poster prints, greeting cards and giclée prints. As an artist that embraces the traditional with the digital, I plan to add some digital graphics to my collection as well. I hope you will find my work as enjoyable to view as I did in their creation.
 

I love to share my art experiences and the process of creating art with others. You'll find me teaching classes and workshops at VisArts and Plaza Artist Materials in Rockville, Maryland. Or, sign up for classes and workshops in my new studio at Artists & Makers Studios in Rockville. At my studio enjoy small classes and plenty of individual instruction. Click on the "classes/workshop" link to see a list of classes and workshops for the spring and summer.