Mark   A. Stuart

I'm Mark A. Stuart and I began painting in 2007 and have been doing so ever since.

My "day job" is a professional video producer where I've been employed full time for almost 30 years. I work at a television station producing commercials which inadvertently inspired me to paint as a creative outlet where I can make my art however I like.

In 2004, I inherited a big pile of acrylic paints from my Dad who made wooden lawn ornaments. Not wanting to just throw them out, I thought I might try painting someday.   I had considered this from time to time before, but this helped put me in that direction. Almost three years later, I began by just fooling around on my own with mostly abstracts and some scenery.

A few years later, I took an online painting course by Len Hend who taught me how to paint pictures which were much more obvious what they were compared to my abstract genre.

I painted acrylic scenery for a couple of years  and eventually got into watercolors.

Technically, I'm self taught, but not completely, thanks to the many tutorials online. I just never had any formal in-person courses.   It was quickly obvious to me that the real key to successful painting is simply to practice, so I practice a lot, painting on an almost daily basis.

It wasn't very long when I preferred watercolors over acrylics which were also easier for me to paint. Plus, I liked the look of watercolors much more and felt I had more control over what I was painting. I  learned how to paint from pictures as well as made up  scenes, and I enjoy painting both.

I had good responses from my abstracts (I probably painted for 2 years before showing anybody other than my wife!), but I've always realized they are a rather narrow niche. I was encouraged by the many positive responses from my acrylic scenes and even more for my watercolor scenes; much more than I expected. As time went on, my paintings improved and the positive feedback increased.

I  hope you also enjoy my paintings and thanks for   visiting  my website!

-Mark

About the Artist