I Wish To Be Free (Aladdin) - Original
- From the outset I had always intended to create a scene that was similar to the original Mermaid pieces from previous releases that featured the iconic Genie rising from the lamp and for it to be a vivid and quirky piece. However as this latest body of work has developed I have come at it from a different angle.
So many of the new pieces focus on the character through their silhouetted form and the embodiment of hope that resonates from them and I therefore became increasingly drawn to creating a piece that focused on Robin Williams rather than the Genie. I am sure many of us will agree that the Genie makes the Disney film and that was down to Robin Williams’ array of voices and personalities that he gave to the character.
So this piece, entitled ‘I Wish To Be Free’ is connected to Aladdin through the figure that rises upwards from the lamp that rests on the coral bed, a slight deviation to the film where the shackled Prince was cast into the ocean before being set free. However in this case the figure rising up to the surface, to the light is actually in human form.
This piece focuses on this brilliant actor’s death that was as a result of his demons growing so tall behind him that their shadows obscured the whitest of walls. The question so many had was ‘why?’. Why could someone so loved and with such a star-filled film career choose to end their life? It became apparent that Robin was deeply troubled and depressed and battling so much more than anyone knew, slowly becoming trapped within his own body and mind through paranoia and form of dementia that his wife described ad “the terrorist inside my husband’s brain”.
The pressure to perform for the benefit of others is so similar to his role as the Genie, living with such constraints only to have to grant wishes on demand before regressing back into the darkness. So I guess for Robin and sadly for so many others he had sunk to such a depth within his mind that the darkness and his demons erased the sunrise, they clouded the clear to the point where he only had one wish and one way to be free.
This image, I hope you will agree, is beautiful and honest and with the above in mind terribly sad whilst offering a calming sense of comfort through hope, seeing how the darkness falls away and all that surrounds the character is good. For me personally when you create a piece with a genuine meaning and when you strive to capture and portray a sense of emotion and feeling there is a point in each of them when it shines through, when what you see in front of you gives off everything that you hoped you could inject and it is quite something. In this instance it really was overwhelming, not just that I am confident that I have created a piece of art that does true justice to a wonderful human-being as Robin but something that will resonate to many for so many reasons.
Mental health is such a huge issue and looks to finally be starting to be tackled and talked about because the implications for not are terrifying. It is so easy to dismiss and to try and paper over the cracks for someone who is troubled, to genuinely try to do good through pointing out all of the good things that they do and all of the people that surround them. A line that resonates with me and is one that makes you work harder to understand a troubled persons state of mind and to not think that a positive talk will suffice is simply this, ‘how do you see the stars from so far down?’
It doesn’t matter how many stars shine and how bright, if you are that far down then you simply can’t see them. I also think that the line could offer comfort to someone who is battling to understand a persons’ decision, albeit sadly using a different tense it forms a gentle and silent acceptance of that persons mental state and ultimately their final wish. -
- Released: 2017
- Collection: Through Darkness & Light
- Specification: 1 of 1 original framed embellished canvas, hand signed by artist.
- Image Size: 48” x 36"
- Framed Size: 54” x 41"
Commissions
When workload allows Mark embraces client commissions and has enjoyed amazing success to date. If you have been inspired by the work that you have seen and have a specific idea or simply a seed then please do get in touch.
Commission EnquiriesRelated Items
Born To Lie (Pinocchio) - Original
- No one likes a liar, no one.
This is a boy who hasn’t been scarred by lifes’ experiences too young, his first reaction to his creator was to laugh wildly in his face, what kind of freak does that? Geppetto was a true craftsman, a master of his trade who poured everything into creating Pinocchio only for things to turn very, very bad. Described by his father as wretched boy, this little blaggard caused havoc and turmoil and was cast out, ring-fenced and and abandoned. Can a child really be born ‘bad’? Surely not, it must be through inherited traits that clash and conflict with bad experiences and influences that they are exposed to? But how does that explain the above?
It is written that this rascal of a boy causes grief and frustration to his father and others but the fact that his first breath was a negative one means that maybe whilst creating his son, Geppetto unwittingly transferred some of his negative characteristics that had been dormant within, those that were a consequence of the pressures that he had been placed under through lifes’ struggles. The craftsman is undeniably good but no one is ‘perfect’ and stress mutates and breaks out in different ways. So who is actually the victim here?
This piece focuses on a frustrated and silently seething Pinocchio, sat slumped isolated and abandoned. His nose elongated and showing signs that he is still lying, the wooden limbs burn with the anger that is building within his body and mind. He knows what he is is doing is wrong, he can see the destruction and the hurt that radiates outwards but he can’t seem to stop it, is it his fault? Does he choose to lie, no, not in this case, he was simply made this way. On first look you see a crisp, beautiful scene before seeing the boys’ anger and frustration but as with so many of my pieces there are signs of hope.
Once a liar always a liar right? No. -
- Released: 2017
- Collection: Through Darkness & Light
- Specification: 1 of 1 original framed embellished canvas, hand signed by artist.
- Image Size: 48” x 36"
- Framed Size: 54” x 41"
Corleone (The Godfather) - Original
- My interpretation of the incredibly iconic The Godfather that focuses on the fictional character Don Vito Corleone. I have continued to build on the style where I create the character out of smoke but with this one I have looked at achieving maximum impact and clarity of the detail by overlaying onto a solid background with no film references included, so a different treatment to my 2016 BALBOA but still using the the same elements to ensure consistency.
There are only very subtle abstract markings on the background to add drama and small pockets of explosive movement, for example if you look around the rose and jacket the red markings could either symbolise passion which the Don unquestionably has by the bucket load or could symbolise the immediate impact of a gunshot wound within a life where families are never unscathed by grief and tragedy. The smoke not only creates a really interesting and different aesthetic quality to the piece but it relates to the cigar smoking Mafia boss so well and you could imagine those smoke-filled rooms where he delivered so many of his iconic lines.
This piece was particularly challenging as portraiture was an area that I always avoided but I feel that I have done the legend justice and this treatment offers something different again whilst continuing to build on my style of work that creates the opportunity to in time build a series of side on iconic portraits. -
- Released: 2017
- Collection: Through Darkness & Light
- Specification: 1 of 1 original framed embellished canvas, hand signed by artist.
- Image Size: 48” x 36"
- Framed Size: 54” x 41"
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For Now I'm Winter (Narnia) - Original
- I could quite easily have created a scene set in a snowy forest clearing be it beautiful or dark but I wanted to tackle this piece from a completely different angle. I have set this as a ‘Storyteller’ style piece, one that embraces the depth and intensity that comes from producing a multi-layered narrative that drive the visual and open the viewers’ imagination to decide what has happened, what is happening and what could ultimately happen.
‘For Now I’m Winter’ is the title track of Olafar Arnalds album which together with the vocals of Arnor Dan has become a significant part of my work, featuring in pieces such as “Where Demons Roam’ for example. For me personally the phrase ‘For Now I’m Winter’ represents the acceptance by someone that things are not lost and that there is still the chance to recover from their current state no matter how far gone they are or think they are. So you might be experiencing the bleakest, darkest Winters but you accept that with Winter always comes Spring and with it the shoots of new growth that will if nurtured continue to grow. The question for the person studying this piece is do they see Winter or do they see Spring, are things too far gone or are they in recovery?
The primary narrative for this Narnia piece embraces the key objects and characters of the story and if you look, it still does actually show a forest clearing and snow through the deforestation caused by the battles that raged shown here as fire and also the snow drops that have forced their way through the charred earth. The wardrobe and light, both key objects from the story each have a place within the composition whilst there are more subtle references such as the rotten apple that is a link to the apple tree that was used to make the wardrobe initially.
These details create the scene and help to identify this darkened piece with Narnia whilst the focal point of the piece and ultimately the concept is Aslan, laying slain and restricted by stone, frozen in time. On first study it is a terribly sad scene, the body position and facial expression of the wounded lion that once ruled the land. Yet when you notice the snowdrops that surround him you will start to realise that maybe all is not lost and that wounds if treated can recover.
This brings me onto the deeper narrative that runs throughout the piece, one that most may not identify as being there but its’ there and makes this piece so much more poignant, powerful and ultimately positive. So much of my work is built around hope, shining a light into the darkest of shadows and this is showcased within ‘For Now I’m Winter’. Depending on experience past or present many will be able to identify with this concept either as the first or third person. Aslan is the person hypothetically wounded and in trouble, surrounded by the effects of the fires that burned around them but ultimately lying on ground where the flames have gone out, where new growth is starting to surround them.
The solitary dove feather that rests on the body represents the lasting impact of a loved ones’ care for the person in trouble, in Winter. The wardrobe is the open door, the escape out of this world, this is an incredibly powerful part. It could the permanent route back when Spring comes, it could be a temporary escape mechanism or it could be much worse when all other doors close. The galloping Fawn who is running away from the fire symbolises those who choose to run rather than help the person in need, something that is sadly all too common. Finally the light represents a pillar of hope and is what we are all drawn to, the light that shines brightest when surrounded by darkness.
For now I am Winter, lungs renew… -
- Released: 2017
- Collection: Through Darkness & Light
- Specification: 1 of 1 original framed embellished canvas, hand signed by artist.
- Image Size: 48” x 36"
- Framed Size: 54” x 41"