Mark Rafter: In His Own Words

Mark Rafter, a photo by AnTonGallery on Flickr.

An Autobiography:

"Born in Wales on April 23, 1961 of Anglo-Irish parents, I started drawing and painting as a young boy, winning prizes and awards during my time at boarding school. Following this I went on to study painting at Central St. Martins in London, then continued on to an MA in painting at the Royal Collage of Art, London. After diversifying into design and technology at the London Collage of Printing, I worked as a traditional animator and storyboard artist on several feature length films. I went on to work in film and advertising for several years using my visualisation skills to art direct and storyboard. In 1999 I started work in television, working as a storyboard artist, art director and graphic designer at Turner Broadcasting, Nickelodeon and finally as art director at the Disney Channel.

Since leaving collage I have painted only intermittently as a hobby until last year, when I spent an inspirational holiday in Nepal. So touched by the beauty of this remarkable country and the sincerity of the people I met there, I turned to painting and drawing as my natural response to the place. I had now left the corporate media world behind, and was free to work as an artist and painter.

On my return to London, I meet Helen Webb quite by chance through a mutual friend. I was invited to join the An Ton Studios and work as artist in residence, forming the An Ton Gallery and contributing in the upcoming festival.

My paintings are a spontaneous response to my surroundings which balance two worlds; one of paint itself, of shape, colour and texture; the other is a record of my observations and love of the world, with all it's beautiful diversity."

-Mark Rafter