By his own admission, Mark Carson English wasn’t a good student during his formative years. “I didn’t even have good grades in art class because I didn’t follow the rules,” he says. That self-proclaimed unruliness, which followed him throughout a host of odd jobs over the years, may have been the characteristic that ultimately gave him direction. His inability to conform to norms gives his artwork the je ne sais quoi that makes it valuable among collectors across the country.
English is not limited to painting in a single genre or using a lone medium. He regularly paints in a range of styles, from hyperrealism to abstract expressionism to pop art. While he spends much of his time painting canvases, he also paints textiles and ceramics and creates painted metal sculptures. “I base what I paint on my mood and the music I’m listening to; for example, listening to jazz often puts me in a semi-representational, abstract frame of mind,” says the self-taught artist. English has worked in the jazz world, in the past creating an 8-by-10-foot fine art painting of musician Charles Mingus as a stage backdrop when Mingus’ wife accepted a posthumous award for his influence on jazz music at Jazzfest in New York City. Afterward, a New York collector bought the painting.
Meeting an artist at 8 years old was the impetus for English to paint his initial piece of original artwork. He sold his first painting at 16 and for the last 15 years has made a full-time living as an artist. “I was always creative, but I didn’t embrace it until I was older,” he says. “I can naturally draw realistically to scale in freehand, but I always preferred abstraction.” While he paints a wide range of subject matter, including fashion, landscapes, cityscapes, jazz and figurative art, his paintings fall into three categories: design-driven, fine art and museum pieces. Designers are the main clients of his design-driven works, while the fine art pieces he paints are based on whatever strikes his fancy.
“The museum pieces are those that are unique or that really resonate with me, so I keep them for myself, my five daughters and five granddaughters,” English says. “I create what I like but also what other people like. I paint over things I don’t like and have some paintings that I won’t sell. But it’s an intimate thing to deliver a painting to a collector that will be handed down through the family over time, especially in an age when so much seems disposable. It’s not really about the money; it’s an honor to hang on the collector’s wall.”
English runs a robust to-the-trade program; he previously worked in design and architecture and understands the needs of professionals in these industries. The artwork he paints for designers is on a request basis, and he consults with them to discover what color palette and painting style they are searching for to complete their projects. “Designers are the art consultants. From my perspective, they make 90% of the decisions for art collectors and homeowners. I enjoy working with them,” English says. Just in Atlanta, he paints for more than 20 designers and has placed a thousand pieces of art in collectors’ homes. As one of his favored markets, he spends regular time in Atlanta.
English’s unusual business model keeps him constantly traveling around the country, which he says chases away the boredom. He has studios in Atlanta; Knoxville, Tennessee; New York City; and Miami. He spends one week each month in each studio, painting artwork that is in demand specifically in that city. “Lately, I have been seeing an increase in demand from collectors out West, such as in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Colorado. Collectors in that area are into Western Americana subjects, so that is what I’m painting there,” he says. He is participating in an exhibit next February in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and in Jackson Hole in April. Last year, English sold his artwork in 48 states. Over his career, he estimates he has placed 13,000 pieces of his art with collectors (some of whom are celebrities), including in more than a thousand corporate offices.
English has just finished a worldwide livestream collaboration with two fashion designers in which he created visual art in conjunction with their dress designs. He previously created a show based on his fashion paintings of vintage Chanel and Louis Vuitton shoes and purses, which ran in several cities. Collectors can catch him this fall at exhibitions in Tampa in October and New York City in November, and at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in February in Charleston.
Wherever he is working, English’s day starts about the same: Up early at 5 or 6 a.m. to enjoy the silence and a cup of coffee, he turns on inspirational music and begins his next painting in the studio, switching the paintbrush from right to left hand for effect. He works on 50 to 100 paintings at once, but only five get precedence at one time on the five easels he sets up in his studio. “I have different painting stations depending on my mood,” English explains. “My largest easel is made of oak from France and weighs between 400 and 500 pounds. It’s where I paint the largest pieces. Three other easels hold medium and large format creations, while the fifth one is for smaller works. I also work in a splatter booth and have set up two 15-foot tables imported from France for textile art.”
English’s art expresses high energy and dynamic movement, with vibrant color and texture. “I don’t always start a painting to finish it,” he admits. “That’s a mistake young artists make; they don’t give themselves enough time. I let each artwork evolve, whether that takes two minutes or two years. My graffiti pop art takes the longest, but I really enjoy painting it.”
When asked if he can choose a favorite painting from the thousands he has finished, he says: “The most special painting was the one I was able to give a Nashville teacher who I knew could never afford one. I also have paintings I have done of each of my daughters that I’ll give them one day.”
He says the ideas for his art just come to him naturally. “It’s a God thing,” he explains. “God blessed me with this creative ability. I love every painting that I create with a good soul because each one is a blessing; I have the ability to do it and then a collector can hang it on the wall.” *
Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and art.
