Conversations with Mark Farrell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Farrell.

Hi Mark, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Born and raised in Centennial, I’ve always considered the suburbs of Colorado an inspiration. I remember going to Southglenn mall as a kid for years before it was remodeled. Back then, it still had remnants of the ’80s and ’90s: pastel-colored designs, CD stores, etc… Those colors and designs sometimes find a way into my paintings. I also enjoy all the crazy sunsets and shifting geography of Colorado. After growing up here, I went to College in Illinois and Graduate school in Massachusetts. Returning home after school taught me a new appreciation for Centennial. For the first time, I could see some of the uniqueness I had missed before.

I started painting in College, but I’ve always been creatively driven. In High School, I took photography and art classes, and I was always doodling on my binders and homework. I would also listen to a lot of different kinds of music and try to figure out what I liked and didn’t like. It took time to become persistent when painting, looking past my first and third reactions to a piece, to figure out what I really wanted from a painting.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve had my share of struggles. After my first year of grad school, I got very ill and had to go to the hospital. After a cat scan, they found a mass in my chest. Luckily it was fungal and not cancerous, but I was still in the hospital for about a month and a half. But, somehow, I was still able to finish my last year and graduate.

Everything that has happened to me in life, good or bad, has only made me stronger. In my work, too, I’ve rolled with the punches. Some work I’ve made I wasn’t satisfied by later, but I think that’s something every painter struggles with. Worst case scenario, I paint over it later and make it better.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I try to make paintings that include things I enjoy: the weird physicality of the Colorado landscape, references to mainstream culture, otherworldly colors that are reminiscent of my favorite horror movies, and, occasionally, song lyrics. To me, this intuitive combination is a truer representation of my life. If I do specialize in something, I would say I specialize in how things are painted. I often concentrate on where paint is thick or where it can be thin, how brush strokes move together or against each other, painting things up or even power sanding them down to reveal marks underneath. I also focus on how these things move within the composition of a painting.

I don’t seek a style that is automatically different from everyone else. Having my own taste creates its own style. Most artistic styles aren’t born in a vacuum, and neither is mine. My paintings also play with contradictions. For example, I play ‘cool’ colors off of ‘hot’ colors or ‘thick’ paint versus ‘thin’ paint.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I loved Geckos. I knew everything about them; I knew that they had no eyelids and were always licking their own eyeballs. I even had a pet leopard gecko for a few years. I always loved animals as a kid, too. I think I was a quiet kid, but I could be loud and obnoxious, too. I’ve always been ADHD. I watched a lot of television and cartoons. I sometimes got in trouble as a kid but not often.

Pricing:

• $2500.00

Contact Info:

• Email: markfarrellart@gmail.com
• Website: https://markfarrellart.com/home.html
• Instagram: markandrewfarrell