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Mark Dahle Biography Mark Dahle grew up in Southeast Alaska, where it rains 150 inches a year. After 18 years, he finally decided to dry out. You may not believe it, but people from Ketchikan go to the Seattle area for sunshine. Mark moved to Tacoma, freelancing in writing, photography and layout design. Mark started his first painting in 1989 without knowing what he was going to paint. He was only sure of the colors for it. After about two weeks, a third of the way down the canvas, Mark knew what the painting was. "Red Sky at Morning" emerged quickly after that. It is based on the first half of a children's poem: Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. When the painting was done, Mark saw how good it was -- and that inspired him to keep painting. Since Mark started painting, he has had five one-person shows: two in Chicago, IL, and one each in Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; and Escanaba, MI. Mark owned a gallery in La Jolla, California for 2 1/2 years. Mark lives in Red Cloud, NE, where you can visit his new 10,000 square foot art gallery. Your paintings look like my five-year-old's
art. I don't like abstract art, but I really like your paintings. This is one of the most frequent comments I hear. I'm not sure why it is. My abstracts seem to be accessible (and enjoyable) to people even if they don't usually like abstract art. How do you know when you're done? I can sense it. I keep painting until a painting is complete or it's ruined. Sometimes I think I've ruined a painting, but if I keep at it, it suddenly comes together. Other times it's just ruined, and I have to scrape the paint off and start over. But when it all comes together, it's a great feeling. How did you learn to paint? Where did you go to school? My mom was an artist and an art teacher. She would often bring movies about artists home for us to preview before she showed them to her classes. When she was evaluating art, she would spread all her students' work on the living room floor, so I got to see a range of talent and got trained in making evaluative judgments. Most of my training comes from her. The fine art classes I’ve taken have been in photography and cinematography. My one painting class was a critique class with the Dean of the Art Institute of Chicago. What painters have influenced you? All of them. I go to museums, galleries and art shows as often as I can. My favorite abstract artists are Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and Piet Mondrian. Non-abstract favorites include Pablo Picasso, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Vincent Van Gogh. I like quite a few less-well-known artists, so any short list leaves off lots of great people. But I especially like Rory Wagner (Native Americans), Ben Kikuyama (found object sculpture and paintings), Gregory Lomayesva (Hopi paintings), and Pascal (sculpture). I'm also watching the careers of Mike Larsen, Carole La Roche, and Joe Fettings. Artists I’d like to see more of: Walter Piehl, Graham Flatt, Julie Oriet, Gloria Gaddis, Houshang, Raven Buffalo, Tammy Garcia, Erin Currier, Jim Pitman, Mick Shimaneh, Karen Harms and Julias Seyler. If you'd like to see occasional comments about artists and art events, sign up for my monthly newsletter. What do you say in your lectures on abstract art? My talk on Understanding Abstract Art includes examples of paintings done by Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko and contemporary artists. It helps people know how to react when they see art they can't "figure out." My talk on Seven Things To Know Before Investing In Art highlights seven questions to ask when investing in art. Not knowing the correct answers to these questions has cost investors millions of dollars. Both talks are interesting, entertaining, and packed with insider secrets. How can I get you to come to my city to talk about abstract art? Email MarkDahle at aol.com or write: Mark
Dahle Art Gallery
Other pages you might be interested in: |
 Red Sky At Morning. © Mark Dahle 1989 
Abstract Painting © Mark Dahle 1991 
Abstract Painting © Mark Dahle 2008 
Abstract Painting © Mark Dahle 2008 
Abstract Art © Mark Dahle 2008 
Abstract Art © Mark Dahle 2000 |