Mark was born in Manchester where he still lives and works. He studied at Rochdale College and Oldham College before and taking up a postgraduate position at the Slade School of Art in London. The Slade proved a disappointment to Mark as at the time its emphasis lay on teaching more conceptual art to the detriment of old fashioned life drawing, his great passion. Somewhat disillusioned with art education Mark returned to Manchester to join the family business and worked in the meat markets there for
several years. On the closure of the family firm Mark once again started drawing and painting and quickly came to the attention of several major galleries. He has since developed a national profile through regular solo shows at the leading London contemporary art fairs and through the world wide distribution of limited edition prints of his work.
Mark is best known for his powerful depictions of the female form in clean assured lines of charcoal and gouache, a style that has sparked a renaissance of interest in traditional life drawing amongst the art collecting fraternity and recently inspired several imitators. In a long and varied career his drawings have won several awards including The Public Eye award, The Lyceum Prize and The Sidney Andrews Scholarship. It is fair to say that as his career continues to flourish Mark become one of the most popular figurative artists working in Britain today.
