Marcus Colburn grew up in the American Midwest with an insurance salesman father who raised him to follow three essential dictums: He asked his son to never get a girl pregnant, never get a tattoo and never join a cult. Marcus was unable to follow through on any of those wishes.

Colburn often describes his formative childhood experiences as “taking place in the back of the shoe store” where his mother worked to support the family after she divorced his father. He attended the University of Northern Iowa studying philosophy and fine arts and then transferred to the College of Charleston in South Carolina – near the military base where his high school sweetheart was stationed. The couple split.

Unable to shake the memories of his love, Colburn painted. He traveled to Spain for further study and befriended a Serbian artist who quickly became a teacher. Later, Marcus found a space of support in the Zendik Arts Foundation. Though drawn to the farm primarily due to the artistry of the late Wulf Zendik, he took to a life which allowed him to fully focus on his painting without the limitations and strain of the commercial industry. Yet, his shy and recluse nature eventually drew him away from the foundation, to a mountain in North Carolina where he worked in solitude. After winning back his old love, he returned to Charleston with her and his old dog, and is beginning the process of sharing his visions and expressions with a wider audience.