By Andrew Clarke

Published at 11:05, Thursday, 04 October 2012

WORK by local artist Mark Pearce has been selected from over 500 submissions to appear alongside paintings by some of Britain’s leading contemporary artists.

AT WORK: Mark works in his Eskside Studio

His work will form part of an annual exhibition, led by the Royal Society of Marine Artists, that has come to be recognised as the most prestigious and varied show of marine art in the UK.

The exhibition will be on display at the Mall Galleries, near Trafalgar Square, London, between October 17 and 28.

Work will cover a range of subject matter, including battleships, coastal landscapes and rural fishing boats.

Mark grew up in Seascale, attending Wyndham School as it was then known, before going on to Carlisle Art College and then Norwich School of Art.

He went on to have a very successful career as a graphic designer in London, he moved back to Cumbria and now lives and works in Ravenglass.

A contemporary landscape painter and printmaker, Mark’s business, Eskside Studio, was set up by himself and his sister, Sarah, in September 2010. In 2011, Mark became the president of the Original Print Development Group (OPDG), a group of Cumbrian artists whose passion is for printmaking.

Mark prefers oil paint to acrylic and combines pastels, watercolour and gouache in whatever way works for the subject. He uses many different techniques, as well as brushes, to apply the medium.

“It’s the effect of light and colour within the landscape that fascinates me,” said Mark.

“I am continually experimenting within, and between, media and disciplines in order to share what is so compelling to me.

“This means that often my paintings look like my block cut prints, and my prints end up looking like my paintings.”

During his career in London, Mark won the BBC Design Award for his memorable Royal Mail greeting stamps, featuring smiles from the likes of Dennis the Menace, the Mona Lisa and the laughing policeman. This also won him the prestigious D&AD (Design and Art Directors Club of Great Britain) Award.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk