Biography... |
Mark David Heine
Originality ... easily recognized, but elusive to achieve. To conjure something from nothing is the act of creativity, no matter the medium. I'm forty four years down the rabbit hole, and still descending. My life has been spent building a mental vocabulary to first visualize, then the physical ability to realize. Finally comes the passion, embracing a cause and using my skills to champion positive social change. Mark Heine was raised by artists to be an artist. His was a childhood spent wandering his father's massive warehouse studio, absorbing the progress and process of the monumental projects underway. It was art by the ton, measured in yards, not inches. There were always diverse skills in action, to watch and learn from ... sculptors, designers, architects and artisans, working in plaster, resin, concrete, fibreglass, wood, stained glass, tapestry and, of course, paint. Mark's father, Harry Heine, RSMA, CSMA, FCA, NNWWS (1928-2004), would eventually became one of Canada’s most celebrated artists, culminating with his election to the Royal Society of Marine Artists in England. He is the only Canadian to ever have achieved that status. As a child, Mark and his family toured and sketched the great cities of the world, immersed in galleries and architecture. First as students, then eventually as instructors. From the masters, learning the learnable ... technique, colour, composition, and so on, but also developing the sensitivity to recognize the intangible conceptual aspects, which make the difference between a mere rendering and a work of art. In his teens, Heine was awarded the 1979 Attorney General's Art Scholarship, eventually graduating from the Applied Arts Program at Capilano University in Vancouver, British Columbia. He established his own studio and, over the course of 40+ years, has become one of North America’s most sought-after talents, working through agents and galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Fe, Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver, where he has been showing with some of the most recognized artists in North America. His work can also be found in galleries and collections throughout Europe, including the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain. Corporate commissions for clients such as Sony, Disney, Starbucks, and many others garnered him more than 40 national and international awards. In 2017, Heine was awarded the designation of “Associate Living Master" by The Art Renewal Centre (ARC) and was selected from 4800 entries for the Haynes Galleries Award at the 14th ARC Salon for 2019. Recent European shows have also taken place in Dublin, Belfast and twice at the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona Spain. In 2021, sixty three of Heine's Sirens paintings were selected for inclusion in the "Lunar Codex" a series of time capsules destined for permanent residence on Earth's Moon. Part of the NASA Artemis Project, digitized images of Heine's work will be included on board the Peregrin lander, Nova C Lander, Griffin Lander/NASA Viper Rover and 6 more exploratory rovers yet to be announced. Heine’s work has also appeared in numerous print and online publications, including Hi-Fructose Magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Magazin’ Art, Applied Arts Magazine, American Art Collector Magazine, International Artist Magazine, The Guide Artist Magazine, Poets and Artists Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine, Ophelia Magazine, Preview Magazine, Miroir Magazine, Realism Today Magazine, ARS Magistris Magazine, Galleries West Magazine and Voyage Chicago Magazine. Notable blogs featuring my work have been My Modern Met and The Creators Project. Articles are posted ... click here to read Heine has come to realize that he is a storyteller. Writing has long been a key component of his creative process, and the symbiotic relationship of these two distinct disciplines has led to a unique approach to both. Bringing one of those stories to life – to larger than life – marrying fiction to painting, is the focus of his most recent works: the Sirens series. Each of his paintings is a captured moment in his coming Sirens book, a work of fiction in the genre of imaginative realism. Mark, his wife and creative collaborator Lisa Leighton, and their two daughters, Sarah and Charlotte, live in beautiful Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. |
