"A journey for the eyes and mind." That is how Oklahoma native, Mark Yearwood hopes viewers perceive his structural and expressive acrylic paintings.
How this descendant of red-dirt farmers has moved from graphic design to a quickly rising fine artist makes an interesting tale.
Yearwood worked for many years in graphic design, along the way creating art projects, and three-dimensional pieces, from his own shop materials. He has always loved to work with his hands, having started helping on his Grandfather's farm when he was only ten years old. Now he is taking the principles of his hands-on design work—layout, contrast, color, and design balance—and applying them to fine art. In the last five years, he has been a re-design on himself, his life, and his professional direction.
Yearwood’s fine art is all about line and form, a little geometry, architectural aspects, and organic design. He has been influenced along the way by Native American art and culture, the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the quality of the work of contemporary artists. Previously, the artist always had to suit his sign and graphic design customers and abide by the images they had in mind. Now he wants to work for himself, following his own inspiration in its purest form. What is inside is being released in the abstract form; it is not representational, allowing for a co-creation of meaning between artist and viewer. His goals: to make better and better art, to explore, to evolve, not to be stale nor easily pigeonholed. Yearwood is currently known for the interesting texture of his work, one piece even containing parts of a salvaged Cello.
When asked if he would move eventually toward more representational work, Yearwood responded,” I have thought about adding a figure or a face to the abstract projects, but I will never be a hard realist. Some of my pieces do have a hint of a landscape.” He added,” My desire, though, is to stimulate art viewers to explore their own interpretation of my work.” He mused,” When they connect with the art, I’ve succeeded. This is a process balanced between the artist’s creative desire and the interpretive acts of viewers. Art is ultimately about that human connection.”
