Join us for First Thursday Sip + Stroll on Thursday, November 1, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as we welcome New work from our November featured artist, Mark Wankel!
Meet The Artist
My interest in art began as a teenager growing up in Kingsport, TN. I became infatuated with the artwork and designs of album covers for rock bands from the late 1960’s through the heavy metal album covers of the 1980’s. I studied at Emory and Henry College, where I earned a B.A. in Studio Art. After living in Virginia for several years, I returned to Tennessee for an M.F.A. degree in painting/drawing from UT-Knoxville. My wife and four children are my support system and best critics. I am currently a professor and instructor of art at a couple of schools in East Tennessee.
-Mark Wankel
"HARD WATER"
Mark's Artwork Info
Large Works
This is a series that I’ve been working on for some time. They started as an amalgamation of imagery loosely based on physical constructs, symbols or activities rooted in attempting to transcend into a higher plane of spirituality. These usually started as some attempt of a loose illustration; however, I found that eventually, without fail, the works would end up on a tangent from the original idea, both conceptually and visually. These works have many layers of changes of ideas/approaches/mind, erasures, mistakes, and revisions. The end result ends up as a compression of illustration and change.
Fireworks
I begin by taking (not purposefully) bad photographs of fireworks that we shoot off in the country. I particularly like the cheaper fireworks—I really like the way the phosphorescent light and smoke hangs in the dense humidity of a July evening in Grainger County in East Tennessee. Also, I don’t need much of a reason to shoot fireworks. I begin the paintings using the photographs as a temporary foundation. The photograph becomes abandoned pretty early on in the creation of the painting…I let the early stages of mark-making and color dictate what is to follow. I usually use the names of the fireworks as the titles for the works, because I like the hiccups in the Chinese-to-English translations.
Fish
I’ve been painting fish (usually trout) since about the time I began painting. I don’t set a lot rules when it comes to these works. I’m not looking for accuracy in a zoological sense. Rather, I like to try to create a similar sensation as seeing one of these fish in a stream or river—a flash of fluidity and color that can be both powerful and elusive.
Large Works
This is a series that I’ve been working on for some time. They started as an amalgamation of imagery loosely based on physical constructs, symbols or activities rooted in attempting to transcend into a higher plane of spirituality. These usually started as some attempt of a loose illustration; however, I found that eventually, without fail, the works would end up on a tangent from the original idea, both conceptually and visually. These works have many layers of changes of ideas/approaches/mind, erasures, mistakes, and revisions. The end result ends up as a compression of illustration and change.
Fireworks
I begin by taking (not purposefully) bad photographs of fireworks that we shoot off in the country. I particularly like the cheaper fireworks—I really like the way the phosphorescent light and smoke hangs in the dense humidity of a July evening in Grainger County in East Tennessee. Also, I don’t need much of a reason to shoot fireworks. I begin the paintings using the photographs as a temporary foundation. The photograph becomes abandoned pretty early on in the creation of the painting…I let the early stages of mark-making and color dictate what is to follow. I usually use the names of the fireworks as the titles for the works, because I like the hiccups in the Chinese-to-English translations.
Fish
I’ve been painting fish (usually trout) since about the time I began painting. I don’t set a lot rules when it comes to these works. I’m not looking for accuracy in a zoological sense. Rather, I like to try to create a similar sensation as seeing one of these fish in a stream or river—a flash of fluidity and color that can be both powerful and elusive.
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