The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Local artist Mark Wallen’s work will be featured inside OzSBI’s first floor June 26 through September 24. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. All visitors are asked to follow OzSBI’s COVID-19 safety policies upon entering the incubator, including using a hand sanitation station, signing a login and practicing social distancing.
“Mark Wallen’s oil pastels create a feeling of nostalgia,” WPCA Coordinator Janey Hale said. “The images glow, causing the viewer to want to explore more deeply.”
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, August 13, from 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet Wallen, view and discuss pieces on display. Guests will be asked to follow OzSBI’s COVID-19 safety policies while attending.
About the Artist
A Missouri native (a few years spent in Oklahoma and Texas) currently residing in Raymondville, Mark Quentin Wallen is primarily self-taught. His studies include time working with Wendy Ziegler at Missouri State University-West Plains; he also credits the encouragement and support of the “Ventures In Art” group in West Plains. He describes his style as somewhere between Realism and Impressionism. His goal is to move closer to realism without losing the mood present in his current works.
Wallen’s favorite artists range from the Hudson Valley school (George Inness) to Turner, to Andrew Wyeth. He says, “Like Wyeth, I could find a lifetime of work in the 25 miles around my home.” The influence of the Impressionists’ style on the artist can be seen in his “Home from the Hunt Empty Handed.” He likes color and unlike the Impressionists, feels that drawing and color are as important as light. Turner said, “If there was any color darker than black, he would use it.” The artist would agree.
Most of the artist’s work is in oil pastels on paper, and oil painting on canvas and canvas board. His themes revolve around trains, old houses, buildings, and old vehicles. Most settings are rural in nature. Inspiration comes from his drives on country roads and youthful trips to his grandparents’ home in Oklahoma. His work is from memory or impressions of places. Pictures of vehicles or buildings augment his works. While the mood of the works is of abandoned places, it is not a feeling of melancholy that drives the work – rather a fondness for history. Four years of work with the Forest Service while in college influenced the artist’s view of skies and trees. Snow is also a major theme in his creations. Each work has a story in it.
“It seems that I find out what my goal is when I get there,” Wallen said. “I sometimes feel like Robert Redford’s character in ‘The Natural’ on his late start to baseball when he is told people do not start out at his age in baseball. He replies that while other things happened in life, his mind was always on the game. That’s how I feel about painting – no matter what else I had to do in life, the desire and thought of painting was always there.”
For more information about the exhibit, contact OzSBI Program Administrator Brittany Simers at brittanysimers@ozsbi.com or WPCA Coordinator Janey Hale at jhale2129@gmail.com.
