Prick of the Spindle: Online Gallery for Visual Arts: John Metcalf

Bio: Mark Reep's charcoal, graphite, and ink drawings invite intimate examination: “The more closely you look,” Mark says, “the more you'll find. My drawings are windows on quiet places, on explorations, reflections, dreams―those times when, as Robert Henri said, ‘we seem to see beyond the usual.’ Most of the images collected here for Prick of the Spindle are enlargements of the original drawings, all of which are small works on paper. Some―most notably Chapel Bell, A Secret Country, The Night Watchman’s Garden, The Silver Sparrow’s Song―are true miniatures, and their images here are enlarged considerably. At gallery and museum exhibitions, we often make a magnifying glass available, and though scans of my work are seldom wholly satisfying― something intangible often seems lost―these enlargements at least approximate that magnification. For the most part, this is how I see the drawings when I’m making them.” To learn more about Mark’s work, visit his website’s About The Drawings page.

Born in 1960, Mark has been making art for most of his life, and his drawings have been acquired by collections throughout the United States and abroad. His work has appeared in online and print publications including American Art Collector, Endicott Journal, Gloom Cupboard, Ink Sweat & Tears, Blink/Ink, Art Graphica, Amphibi.us, Girls with Insurance,Word Riot. Mark lives and works in New York’s Fingerlakes region. View more of Mark's work online on his website and his blog.