Mark Mehaffey

Mark Mehaffey
Member of the American Watercolor Society-Dolphin Fellow and a signature member of the National Watercolor Society

Nationally recognized artist Mark E. Mehaffey is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, the American Watercolor Society; DF, Transparent Watercolor Society of America; Signature Life member-Master Status, Watercolor West and the Rocky Mountain Watermedia Society, and Louisiana Watercolor Society Signature Life Member.

Mehaffey has won major awards in juried exhibitions across the country including the Beverly Green Memorial Purchase Award from the National Watercolor Society, the Silver Medal of Honor and the Arches Paper Co Award from American Watercolor Society, the M. Grumbacher Gold Medal from Allied Artists of America, and the Skyledge Award from the Midwest Watercolor Society. Mehaffey's work has appeared in many publications; most recently in The Best of Watercolor, Splash 5-The Glory of Color, Splash 10-Passionate Brush Strokes, Splash 11, Places in Watercolor and as a featured artist in a step by step guide and showcase, Creative Watercolor, Rockport publisher.

ARTIST STATEMENT
During the time I have been painting (over fifty years) my interest in the act of painting has never waned. However, the content of my work and my technical abilities are constantly evolving. This state of change is something that all artists embrace. It is through challenge that growth occurs. To be timid, safe, complacent or overly satisfied does not push the boundaries of creativity.

As tangents occur in my life, they also occur in my work. I allow myself the freedom to follow my tangents. I find myself dreaming of mists, clouds, rain and water. My brush seems to take on a life of its own as I express the feeling of a summer storm or fishing in the shallows. In my non objective work, I work to evoke strong feelings from a viewer by manipulating the elements of composition. Can line, color, shape and value be juxtaposed to have the same emotional impact as a thunder storm?

Art is a communication - a dialogue between artist and viewer. It is my hope to open and maintain that dialog. And I hope the viewer will be as involved as I am.