“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, 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 several years he has been in a re-design on himself, his life, and 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. Abstract painting allows him to follow his own organic 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. Sometimes old letters, labels, and other elements are used in small works. One special piece even contained parts of a salvaged Cello and old Mozart music papers. That piece lives in a music room in Wichita, Kansas.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.”Yearwood creates in his studio located in Tecumseh, Oklahoma.
