I am a creative, passionate person. I paint paintings that people love to look at but more importantly I love to create. I’m inspired by other art forms, particularly music and dance which are the primary subjects of my pieces. I am really inspired by the Impressionists – their use of light and brush strokes and also more recently by the works of artists like Fabian Perez and Jack Vettriano.

I love to paint passion and emotions in people and can see this most in dance. I also love the contrast between light and dark and think that this is what makes a good painting. To create my pieces I take photos and make some preliminary sketches before moving onto the canvas. I paint fast and loose with oils which create great textures. I consider myself a figurative painter in that I paint what I see and it doesn’t always have a hidden meaning behind it. I believe my paintings are great just because of their beauty and visual impact.

I am currently working on a series of ballerinas. I find that the passion in this dance together with the lighting of the dance floor creates a great subject matter. I love exhibiting my paintings and get great pleasure from people viewing the work on display and giving such positive feedback.

You can see more of Mark's work at http://www.markbennettart.com