Mark O'Bryan Currently resides in Modesto, CA Art education: AA degree from Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA BFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. Major: ceramic sculpture. Instructors included John Roloff, Arthur Gonzalez and Richard Burger. The focus of my work after my studies at the Art Institute has been figurative ceramic sculpture and sculpted busts. I have won many awards for my work at regional art exhibitions. I have sold my work to many private collectors over the years. I have been commissioned to create public artworks on various occasions by local civic organizations. These include the Stanislaus Arts Council, Modesto Art in Public Places, Inc., and the Stanislaus County United Way.

A lifelong fascination with the art of various cultures of the world, both ancient and modern, has been a key influence on much of the figurative sculpture that I have made. My sculpted busts are of individuals of social and/or historical importance, some were commissioned and some were not. More recently I have began painting. Portraits, landscapes, seascapes, cubist figure studies and abstract expressionism so far.

Art has always been a part of my life. It is a preoccupation that has always manifested itself from within. I was never inspired by a teacher or relative to become an artist. The drive to create has just always been there. The process of creating visual forms or images of flesh and blood beings from inert substances (clay, paint, pencil) has always facsinated me. Art is a type of alchemy. Artists utilize and combine inert components transforming them into imagery that is visually familiar or meaningfull or simply aesthetically pleasing. It is a process that never loses its appeal.

Artist Highlights

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