Mark Witzling

My passion for contemporary art is born out of seeing the paintings and sculptures of the renowned Masters in Europe and being inspired to better understand their processes and visions. In short, I asked “what were they thinking?” This led to my own exploration and a personal journey to an artistic creative life. Like those Masters, and later a growing interest in the abstract expressionists, the very act of creating my visual expressions deepens my self-awareness and self-understanding. Painting itself serves as a reverential way of exploring my innermost thoughts while also serving as the vehicle to communicate this exploration. I know myself better.

In my painting process, I choose to blend cold wax with my oils, creating added body and transparency to the paint. Through this approach I build layers of paint, creating depth while embracing subtle texture, bold shapes, lines and expressive marks. I spread, scrape, carve, and drip as I build up the work while revealing glimpses of what lies beneath. This process feels like uncovering artifacts of my past – each layer holding fragments of a hidden history, inviting viewers to look closely, to feel the evolution of the piece over time. As I build these sometimes-complex surfaces and as my own history constantly expands, each shape, mark and layer connect the depth of the past to the shapes, marks and layers yet to come, each painting capturing a moment in time and preparing me for the next. These embedded histories become the heart of each painting, much like we uncover our own histories and experiences to better understand ourselves. Ultimately, through my process I understand myself more deeply with each new painting I create.