\n IT is just 48 hours before Mark Hearld hosts his annual art exhibition from his home in York \u2013 and here he is still cutting coloured paper for a new collage.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I’m working right up the wire this time,” says Mark, adding that moving into a new studio off Walmgate had eaten into his “making” time.\n<\/p>\n
\n But all will be ready in time for the grand opening tomorrow (Friday) at his home in The Mount. The exhibition will then continue this weekend and the following weekend.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ordinarily Mark, one of the city’s best-known artists, would be hosting the exhibition as part of the city’s popular York Open Studios, where scores of creatives open their homes to show and sell to the public. The York Open Studios also opens on Friday and runs over the next two weekends.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark Hearld puts the finishing touches to a new collage ahead of his new exhibtion n York. York Press\n<\/p>\n
\n But Mark is running an independent show after failing to be selected to take part in York Open Studios<\/a> this year. He says he is disappointed not to be part of the official programme and hopes to be included next year. It will be the first time in around 20 years he has not taken part.\n<\/p>\n \n “I want to make sure I put on a good show as I am not part of the Open Studios this year,” he said.\n<\/p>\n \n He added there was a financial reason for going ahead independently this year: “I can’t afford not to do it!”\n<\/p>\n \n In a playful move, the exhibition is being ‘hosted’ by Mark’s beloved pet lurchers, Brio and Damsel, who feature in a new screenprint, co-created with Dan Bugg of Penfold Press.\n<\/p>\n \n So what can people expect at the five-day exhibition?\n<\/p>\n \n \n “There will be 20 new collages and a selection of prints,” begins Mark. “There will be a range of work I made based on a trip to Jaipur earlier in the year \u2013 and lots of work inspired by nature.”\n<\/p>\n \n As much as the exhibition is an opportunity for Mark to show off his new work and for visitors to browse and buy, it is a chance to share his unique home with the public.\n<\/p>\n \n The striking townhouse is, says Mark “a piece of visual theatre for people to enjoy”.\n<\/p>\n \n \n Visitors often comment, he says, on how they enjoy looking around his colourful and artefact-filled home as much as appreciating his artwork.\n<\/p>\n \n Mark says: “People get to see the work in the context of where I live \u2013 and enjoy the collage touch to the house. The house is an extension of my creativity \u2013 it’s really a 3D collage!\n<\/p>\n \n “My motivation for collecting stuff is similar to making things. To make good things you need to be a connoisseur. Collecting things shapes and informs the making eye.\n<\/p>\n \n “People say less is more for interiors, but I have always gone for a more is more approach!\n<\/p>\n \n “Artists like Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon had piles of things in every open space. Creativity comes out of chaos.”\n<\/p>\n \n Much of Mark’s inspiration comes from his daily walks through York’s green spaces with Brio and Damsel.\n<\/p>\n \n “The dogs give shape to my working day. We take a long walk to the studio and in the evening.”\n<\/p>\n \n Once, Mark used to sketch, but now he commits images to memory, or takes photos that he posts on Instagram.\n<\/p>\n \n “When I started I used to do a lot of location drawing, but now I just look, or take a photo.\n<\/p>\n \n \n “I use my photos on Instagram as a digital scrapbook.\n<\/p>\n \n “Often, I just work from memory \u2013 when you memorise an image it becomes your own.”\n<\/p>\n \n Fact file\n<\/p>\n \n Brio and Damsel invite you to an exhibition by Mark Hearld at 104 The Mount, York, on Friday April 17, 6pm-9pm; Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, from 10am-5pm; and Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26, 10am-5pm. Updates on Mark’s Instagram at: @mark_hearld<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n The York Open Studios also opens on Friday and runs over the next two weekends. Check out the full programme at yorkopenstudios.co.uk<\/a>.\n<\/p>\nBrio and Damsel screenprint. Photo – York Press\n<\/p>\n
Scared Cows and Street Dogs – by Mark Hearld. Photo supplied\n<\/p>\n
Goats from Jaipur – by Mark Hearld. Photo supplied\n<\/p>\n