Hoquiam artist Mark Vincent loves the poetry of color, from the vibrant yellow of a simple bouquet to the dozen variations of green in a single tree. As an artist, he finds himself particularly drawn to the subtle expression of a still life. But the abundant beauty of windswept beaches and pines in the Pacific Northwest also provides endless subjects for his art.
Vincent learned art in the Netherlands as a young man. After growing up in Southern Oregon and spending a year at Grays Harbor College, he set off to see the world. While he never quite made it around the world, he did experience quite a bit of Europe, living in the Netherlands for 11 years. He attended art school in Eindhoven. But more importantly, he found a mentor in Dutch artist Henk Brokke.
“That’s where I really learned about art and how to produce paintings,” says Vincent, now 66. “He was my guide in the art world.”
While he studied sculpture, old-style graphics, metalwork and even blacksmithing, Vincent found his passion in oil painting and oil pastels. By the late 1980s, he started painting abstracts, showing his art in galleries in the Netherlands and in Germany.
Through the years, though he still sees the abstract everywhere, he has moved on to create primarily still lifes and landscapes. “Still lifes are my thing,” he muses. “As Henk told me, when you’re doing a still life, you’re interpreting what life is like in quiet, in the stillness. When I’m painting a still life, I’m in a meditation of that stillness.”
Vincent maintains that developing one’s own interpretation of life proves essential for any artist. “You learn to draw. That’s the alphabet of art,” he explains. “Then you bring that into color, and you have to have form. But individuality is what makes art great. It’s more getting to know oneself.”
To see or purchase Mark Vincent’s art, check out his website at markvincent.pb.studio or search for Studio Mark Vincent on Facebook. He also shows at the Alder Grove Gallery and at Mother Crow’s Gallery, both in Aberdeen.