Mark Kortnik is dedicated to being a full-time professional artist and has loved creating art since a very young age. It takes many years of commitment to one's craft to develop a unique skill in rendering the realistic portrayals of life that Mark has achieved in his original oil paintings.
Mark creates art that speaks to today's issues about our natural world with its wildlife and its relationship to our expanding man-made world. Mark illustrates the timeless drama of man and animal relationships by starting with the very beginnings of art by early man found in the caves of prehistoric Europe. Some 30,000 years ago the animal was highly revered, but in today's world it is rapidly losing ground due to our dominance. What is its status in today's art? These are some of the questions Mark asks himself.
Mark is inspired to create art living in the Pacific Northwest region of Oregon. His home for the past 14 years has been the little art-oriented town of Joseph. He and his wife, Carol, operate the Aspen Grove Gallery and frame shop on Main Street. This year, Joseph's Main Street gets a major facelife which includes new streets, cobblestone sidewalks with antique lamp posts, and life-size outdoor sculptures. Joseph is noted for its bronze galleries and foundries. Mark encourages all his collectors to come visit the area, also known as the "Switzerland of the America's."
Mark's art work is found in the collections of many admirers and his fine art originals are represented by The Gallery in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Valley Bronze of Oregon, and the Aspen Grove Gallery in Joseph. Mark has self-published several limited edition prints of his work, several of which have already sold out. Mark was also very honored to have been featured in articles by "Inform Art" and "US Art" magazines as a collectible artist whose unique art they felt the public show know more about. Mark regularly exhibits at many of the top-juried Northwest art shows in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Mark Kortnik would be pleased to meet and talk with all interested visitors about the creative process of his art and his visions for the future.