Qcc Artist Directory

Mark Lewis Wagner

drawing, painting

Mythological, Shamanic paintings and more

Gallery

About the Art

Mark works in many mediums. He paints, draws, creates on computers, writes, photographs, makes films and music, and teaches art. He started to paint “spirit birds” several years ago, and that’s basically all he paints now. He is also finishing his first graphic novel of a trilogy, “Graffiti Wars – When Art Saved the World.” His painting of “spirit birds” aligns to a shamanic energy that feels right to co-create and share with the world. He paints them as prayers, as medicine. Mark’s work is a partnership between his inner and outer worlds. He’s more interested and feels more connected to the unseen worlds of imagination, intuition, and how these all help humanity evolve in dynamic balance with nature and the Earth.

Mark is creatively compulsive, “a good addiction to have,” he reports. “At my art barn here in Questa, surrounded by 360° of mountain views, I work alone, plus a dog if I’m lucky.” Coffee and music keep him going, and he usually has many works going at a given time. He may work on over a dozen in a day; a set of paintings, or all the double-page spreads of illustrations for a book. His “spirit bird” paintings can be completed in three sittings, while chalk drawings can take two weeks and many helpful, creative children to complete.

Bio

Mark Lewis Wagner, MA, is an internationally known illustrator, painter, digital artist, author, and educator. He has worked with Pixar/Disney, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, SpaceX, Target, Samsung, Oakland Museum, and the Oakland Zoo. With his master’s degree in the Arts, Mark specializes in visionary art, and has an in-depth understanding in the psychology of imagery, symbolism, mythology, shamanism, and storytelling. Wagner has created 2 self-published books, “Drawing on Earth: The Making of a World Record,” and “The Art of Being a Dad.

Mark discovered art early, keeping a sketchbook with his older brother of monsters and spaceships while growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His artist mom encouraged him to pursue art, and Mark earned his MA in Arts and Consciousness at the non-traditional JFK University in California and a BFA from Pratt Institute in New York.

His nonprofit Drawing on Earth has a Guinness World Record for the largest chalk drawing. They have drawn on 3 continents and have creatively worked with 30,000 kids and adults. He has taught in state prison, graduate school, digital art school, and elementary school. Mark was awarded a digital art NEA grant in the early 80’s. He teaches and works daily with Photoshop. Mark has created 5 pieces of art photographed by satellite, one being at Burning Man. He spends half the year in Oakland, CA, and the other half in his studio near Questa, New Mexico, and can sometimes be found exploring an abandoned psych hospital, and a decommissioned military base with the spirit of a dog known as Mr. Z.