Dara Mark - Biography

Biography

I come from an artistic family. Dad was a painter and Mom was a radio actress. We lived close enough to NYC for regular visits to the museums and galleries. This was the 1950’s and 60’s, when the New York School was current, so I grew up on Pollock, Nevelson, Frankenthaler, and Rothko, to name just a few. My personal visual library was formed by this early exposure, and I still rely on it, with later additions, especially the California Light and Space artists, and Agnes Martin and Brice Marden.

I graduated from Yale in 1971 with a major in architecture. One year of architecture school convinced me that I am not a planner, so I headed to the Left Coast and discovered pottery at an art center in Eugene. After a few years of making teapots and cups, I earned a Master’s in ceramic sculpture from the University of California Santa Barbara. Some years later my husband and I moved to New Mexico, drawn to the clarity of the light and the rich cultural resources here. I began to paint full time. In 2005 I became seriously ill from heavy metal poisoning and had to give up acrylics, oils, adhesives, all the usual media, and found watercolor, which is about as organic as you can get. Watercolor, with its delicate transparency, turns out to be perfect for my expression.

My current work is informed by ongoing study of Taoism and chi gong. I practice Fire Dragon Meridian chi gong to support my health and to prepare myself for studio work. I have found the flow of watercolor paint to be suggestive of the flow of chi in a healthy body, and likewise my painting reflects the state of my body and spirit. I have received artist grants from the California and Missouri State Arts Councils and served as a master artist for talented high school students in Santa Barbara County. My work is owned by private and corporate collections across the West, including Neiman Marcus Corporation, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

Artist Statement

Transparency, color and visual flow are the big draws for me. My materials are all transparent or translucent to allow the layering and filtering of colored light. I work intuitively and let the colors, light, and paint qualities suggest the direction of the artwork. I consider my studio practice to be part of my spiritual practice. The sweet challenge is to be fully present with myself and my materials. Then the creative magic can begin as I work with the visual movement in the paint. A painting may come together immediately as two or more sheets of watercolor on transparent Yupo paper seem meant for each other, or it may take weeks or months to find perfect combinations. Over the years I have learned to slow down and allow serendipity to emerge.

My intention is for the paintings to be engaging and balanced fields for contemplation, and possibly for healing. Sometimes they are designed as prayers for the natural world as with the Forest Breathing series. I am a firm believer in the necessity of harmony, receptivity, and delight.