Mark Edwards Artist - Living and working deep in the Scottish
Highlands he is a modern master in a very British form of surrealism.
The remarkable story of our artist began
in 1967, when he went straight from school to study fine art at Medway Art
College, met his future wife Sally, and continued his studies at
Walthamstow College of Art London.
In 1974 after teaching painting and illustration, and exhibiting his work
locally, Mark and Sally bought an old 1958 Ford Prefect for £25 and drove
up to the very North tip of the Highlands of Scotland. There, on the
shores of Loch Hope surrounded by the dramatic mountains of Sutherland,
they rented an old rundown shepherd’s cottage with no electricity.
They lived in their remote cottage for 28 years, the first 10 years
without electricity, and raised three children.
It was a dramatic move but the stunning remoteness and isolation gave Mark
the uninterrupted space and time to pursue his artistic ideas. During this
period he painted and regularly exhibited throughout Scotland,
supplementing his income by working as a gillie on the neighbouring Duke
of Westminster estate.
This seasonal work inspired a long running series of field sports
paintings, depicting the lives and work of the men who fished and stalked
these remote estates growing the reputation of Mark Edwards as an accomplished Artist in the Highlands and further afield.
In 1984, Mark not only celebrated the addition of electricity and a phone
in their cottage, but he was invited to join the prestigious London
agency, Artist Partners, run by the art director Chistine Isteed.
Over the years Mark Edwards has illustrated literally hundreds of book covers for
authors such as Kingsley Amis, Beryl Bainbridge, Sue Townsend, Michael
Morpurgo (including War Horse), Philip Pullman and the bard himself,
William Shakespeare. Picture books such as ‘The Sand Children’ by Joyce
Dunbar and ‘Narnia Chronology’ by CS Lewis have been
brought to life by Mark’s illustrations. And in 2009 he completed a series
of 18 Falco books by Lindsey Davis. Mark’s varied illustration techniques
have been analysed, alongside other international artists in ‘The New
Guide to Illustration’ .
Always balancing his illustrations with personal fine art painting, in
2007 he finally stopped working on the hill, and tiring of his deer
stalking paintings, he began exploring a new style of work. It was at this
time we see the beginnings of ‘The White Wood’.
Mark remembers that pivotal change...
“One day, instead of placing a deer in the wood, I came across a 1950’s
photo in a magazine of a man reflected in a window on a busy New York
street dressed in a bowler hat and coat, so I placed him in the wood.
Instantly there was an immediate tension: what was he doing there?
In 2008 The White Wood made its debut appearance in a sellout exhibition
and Mark was approached by Washington Green to
sell limited edition prints of his work globally.
Following four sell-out exhibitions the series continues to draw admirers
across the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Mark Edwards’
continued popularity stems from his ability to create contemplative
studies of characters and repeat motifs, captured within the hauntingly
mesmeric landscape of The White Wood. Mark Edwards paintings have a timeless
quality, transcending us out of real life.