Collection: Mark Fielding

I paint to capture those fleeting moments of pleasure and to record them for others to enjoy. Each painting is an act of contemplation and observation of nature. I paint in acrylic on canvas and most of my work explores the play of light on water in some way. I am attracted by the more formal abstract art of Bridget Riley and Piet Mondrian but I remain rooted in a more literal interpretation of landscape. I reference their ideas of pattern, form and colour in my work. I also count Matisse, Bonnard and Van Gogh as current influences.

I was born in London in 1961. My association with Devon began with holidays to my
godfather near Ipplepen when I was very young. I studied at Exeter University and was fortunate to discover the Exe estuary and spent a memorable year living in Lympstone. This cemented my love of painting and painting light on water.
In 1998 I was introduced to Robert Lenkiewicz in Plymouth who agreed to teach me. My book ‘Lessons with Lenkiewicz’ (2013) is an account of this experience which includes details of the lessons themselves in diary form. Later, I became a trustee of The Lenkiewicz Foundation for several years.
My varied output includes paintings on canvas, watercolours and etchings. Certain
subjects proliferate - light on water, working fishermen, the Cornish coast, fishing boats and Venice. I am also an accomplished portrait painter, carrying out portrait
commissions on a regular basis. I am currently exploring abstract landscapes through observations of water reflections.
I established my Studio Gallery in Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard, Plymouth in 2015 and I run a weekly Portrait Clinic and monthly painting workshops there. I also run Old Rectory Workshops at my home in St Mellion in Cornwall.
I have exhibited at the Mall Galleries in London in both the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual exhibition. In 2018, I was shortlisted for the Jacksons Art Competition and was invited to exhibit at the Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead. I recently exhibited at The Exeter Show at the Maynard School raising money for the Young Minds charity. I have been shortlisted for the National Portrait Gallery Award in 2020 and 2024.
I am an Academician of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Art. I have
previously served as Hon. Treasurer and trustee of the Academy. I live in Cornwall,
close to the river Tamar. In 2024, I have exhibited in the Brownston Gallery, Devon in their Spring and Summer shows and have just held a successful solo exhibition at National Trust property Cotehele House, showing a series of paintings of the tidal stretch of the river Tamar.