From July 8 through August 7, 16 Patton Fine Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition of works by Weaverville artist Mark Henry. Mark’s works, primarily landscapes, are rendered in pastel and oil. In addition, he builds his own unique frames, and teaches at the Fine Arts League of the Carolinas.

Born into a military family, Mark traveled extensively as a child and says he lived in “all but a few of the United States” and spent his teenage years in Okinawa.

He attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, and became a private student of, and assistant to, Leslie Posey, a nationally acclaimed sculptor. During the late 1970s, Mark studied design in nature and the human form, ornamental architecture, casting, and mold-making.

In the early 1980s, he acquired knowledge of framework restoration under the tutelage of Ted Nightwine, the chief conservator of the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. He later worked designing and building props for the circus and for Disney Ice Shows. Over the next few years, he divided his time between the Ringling Museum and the pursuit of his passion for painting the landscapes of Florida and North Carolina.

His dedication to the vanishing natural vistas of these unique areas is clearly evident in his works. Mark says he strives, through his paintings, “to show the beauty and the power of our environment that we commonly overlook. There is nothing more unmistakable than a natural view.”

Mark’s paintings are represented in galleries in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia as well as in numerous private collections in the United States and abroad.

16 Patton Fine Art Gallery is located at 16 Patton Avenue in Asheville. For more information, visit 16patton.com, email 16patton@bellsouth.net, or call 828.236.2889.