Mark J. Schiff
PO Box 320835
Fairfield, CT 06825
203 581 0466
I love painting with watercolor. Many say it is a difficult medium to use because of the spontaneous effects when the paint bleeds and spreads across the surface. I feel that this is the beauty of the medium and the mystery. It reminds me of the unpredictability of life.
My fascination with watercolor began while I was riding my bicycle on a Backroads Cycling Tour in the wine country of Calistoga, California. The guides suggested a stop at a local artist’s studio. The artist, Barbara Nechis, invited us inside. I watched her paint with one large wash of watercolor. After this, I was hooked. When I returned home, I enrolled in a local high school continuing education course in watercolor. Since then I have studied with Phyllis Rutigliano of New Jersey, Barbara Nechis and Skip Lawrence . At the Westport Arts Festival in 2011 I was awarded Best in Category for watercolors. I am an associate member of the American Watercolor Society
I usually work on several paintings at the same time. They may be of different subject matter, but they have similar colors and intensities. I let my emotions spill out on the paper, canvas, or wood. I usually paint in my studio, but on nice days I often paint outdoors. The outside environment feels carefree and drives me to experiment, splashing paint across the paper or canvas—as well as the grass.
I am often asked if painting is a learned skill or if it is an inborn talent. I think it is a little of both. I believe that you can take courses, and they are very helpful-they teach you technique and theory. However, they don’t necessarily teach you how to paint. You need skills, but you have to let an inner need to be creative take control. Artists let creativity sweep over and envelope them, and the experience is completely absorbing. Otherwise, someone who has mastered the techniques creates a finished work of art that may lack sparkle. Instead of searching for your art, it is fine to let art search and find you.
I am fascinated with individuals in the arts who transition from their usual persona into a totally different, new, creative role. My interest in yoga, meditation, and music serve to intensify and magnify my skills and channel them in new, unexpected directions. They help to bring out the artist within. As an artist I channel my passion for the mystery and unpredictability of life into painting that people respond to and enjoy.