Mark Powell's Life
Mark powell
Ever since graduating, Mark Powell has had shows all across The United Kingdom and Europe as well. Both the canvas he uses and the faces he draws offer a mysterious story. They carry the scars of travel, a life lived. London based artist Mark Powell has a rather unusual way of practicing the art of drawing. Using antique envelopes as canvases, he draws incredibly vivid portraits of elderly people using only a biro pen. His artistic path is also an unconventional one just as his art, so we got in touch with him for an interview. Mark practiced art in high school after which he exchanged hundreds of jobs and places, to eventually end up being enrolled in university by pure accident. Although his steps have wondered in so many places, he didn’t stop drawing and after having seen so many different people from so many different background, he finally settled on this unique signature: biro pen drawings on old envelopes. As in many cases, art has proven to be a way of escape: When working the many jobs I have had I would draw landscapes and political cartoons by way of escape. Before that as a child I would copy Garfield and Asterix cartoons. Mark Powell’s sketches are more than merely doodles, though – as glancing at the intricacy of his facial illustrations demonstrates. According to his website, Mark is comfortable creating pieces with any tool, maintaining that he can “paint with anything”. One might wonder why Mark chose envelopes as medium of display for his art. There’s something about their history, scars, marks and used aspect that make them really authentic. Especially when it comes to antique envelopes. And since communication and art are going more and more digital these day, you might even ask if traditional letters are still being sent today. Here’s how Mark explains his fascination of first discovering antique envelopes: I was given an envelope that was sent from the front line of World War 1. It captivated me that this may have been the last
Ever since graduating, Mark Powell has had shows all across The United Kingdom and Europe as well. Both the canvas he uses and the faces he draws offer a mysterious story. They carry the scars of travel, a life lived. London based artist Mark Powell has a rather unusual way of practicing the art of drawing. Using antique envelopes as canvases, he draws incredibly vivid portraits of elderly people using only a biro pen. His artistic path is also an unconventional one just as his art, so we got in touch with him for an interview. Mark practiced art in high school after which he exchanged hundreds of jobs and places, to eventually end up being enrolled in university by pure accident. Although his steps have wondered in so many places, he didn’t stop drawing and after having seen so many different people from so many different background, he finally settled on this unique signature: biro pen drawings on old envelopes. As in many cases, art has proven to be a way of escape: When working the many jobs I have had I would draw landscapes and political cartoons by way of escape. Before that as a child I would copy Garfield and Asterix cartoons. Mark Powell’s sketches are more than merely doodles, though – as glancing at the intricacy of his facial illustrations demonstrates. According to his website, Mark is comfortable creating pieces with any tool, maintaining that he can “paint with anything”. One might wonder why Mark chose envelopes as medium of display for his art. There’s something about their history, scars, marks and used aspect that make them really authentic. Especially when it comes to antique envelopes. And since communication and art are going more and more digital these day, you might even ask if traditional letters are still being sent today. Here’s how Mark explains his fascination of first discovering antique envelopes: I was given an envelope that was sent from the front line of World War 1. It captivated me that this may have been the last