About
the Artist
Mark Menendez has
been drawing and painting for most
of his life. At thirteen, he was
apprenticed to Mrs. Austin
Angle, and Mark soon began an intense study
of the
techniques of the masters of the Renaissance and Baroque,
such
as Da Vinci, Raphael, Rubens and Rembrandt. At the
age of sixteen, he
became assistant to Mrs. Angle, and began
instructing her students;
often they were his peers, fellow
classmates from H.B. Plant High School. He was granted an
academic scholarship to the University of Tampa where he
advanced his skill in pencil drawing and oil painting,
primarily in portrait painting.
Commissioned portraits by the artist are in corporate and
private collections:
of note are
the Royal Portraits of the Knights
of Sant’Yago,
which
are displayed in the King’s Banquet Hall
at the famous Columbia
Restaurant in Ybor City, Tampa’s
famed Latin Quarter district.
In 1990, Mark was contracted by
Millennium Publishing to
illustrate the graphic novel adaptation of
horror novelist
Anne Rice’s New York Times #1
Best Seller, “The Mummy”.
Mark has painted a number of inspirational
paintings that are
in the collections of local churches. St. Patrick’s
Catholic Church
has one of his major pieces: “Do This
in Memory of Me”, his
personal interpretation of the
Lord’s Supper. In June of 2000,
he was asked by The Center Place
of Brandon, Florida to exhibit
a retrospective of his work. At this
show, he unveiled his powerfully
dramatic portrait of Jesus Christ,
entitled “The Hour is Come”.
In September of 2000, in St. Augustine,
Florida, Mark’s portrait
of his ancestor and also the oldest city’s
founder, Don Pedro
Menendez de Aviles, was permanently installed at
the
Mission de Nombre de Dios.
For over twenty years, Mark has
instructed hundreds of students
at all levels of expertise or education.
Many of his students have
been awarded either First Place or Best of
Show in local art
competitions. He has offered countless seminars and
painting
demonstrations at universities and schools throughout the state
of Florida. He has also demonstrated on television. In November
of 2000,
Mark was featured on a special segment on the local FOX
Television affiliate.
Mark and Cathy, married for
30 years,
make their home in the
mountains of North Carolina. They travel together
to the many
classes and workshops throughout the nation.
Mark is a
member of
the Color Pencil Society of America,
the Blue Ridge
Watermedia Society,
the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association,
and the
Macon County Arts Association.
He has a gift for making his students
feel at ease, and is generous
in his instruction. Even if you have never
seriously attempted
drawing or painting, or if you have created art
for many years,
Mark can make you into the artist you want to be.
