STUDIO 9
Mark Witzling
CONTEMPORARY OIL AND COLD WAX PAINTING
Mark Witzling is an award-winning nonrepresentational oil painter. Mark has studied, painted and taught in studios across the country. His art is in the collection of the Museum of Encaustic Art in Santa Fe and private collections in the US, Europe and Asia. His work appears in the book Cold Wax Medium – Techniques, Concepts, Conversations. Mark has received two Diderot Grants and multiple Regional Arts Commission Artist Grants. He was selected into the St. Louis Art Fair Emerging Artist program in 2017-18, awarded residencies at Chateau Orquevaux, France (2018 and 2024) and Wildacres Retreat (North Carolina, 2023 and 2026). He has judged numerous art fairs and served on the Boards of Hope Creates and the Delmar Maker District. Engaged in his full-time artist practice, Mark previously served as Executive Director of Craft Alliance in St. Louis, MO and holds degrees from Macalester College and Boston University.
Known for his contemporary oil and cold wax paintings, he creates expressive and colorful images without using brushes. From small scale to larger works he builds us and excavates layers layers of paint to entire viewers to explore his world.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My passion for contemporary art is born out of seeing the paintings and sculptures of the renowned Masters in Europe and being inspired to better understand their processes and visions. In short, I asked “what were they thinking?” This led to my own exploration and a personal journey to an artistic creative life. Like those Masters, and later a growing interest in the abstract expressionists, the very act of creating my visual expressions deepens my self-awareness and self-understanding.
In my painting process, I choose to blend cold wax with my oils, creating added body and transparency to the paint. Through this approach I build layers of paint, creating depth while embracing subtle texture, bold shapes, lines and expressive marks. I spread, scrape, carve, and drip as I build up the work while revealing glimpses of what lies beneath. This process feels like uncovering artifacts of my past – each layer holding fragments of a hidden history, inviting viewers to look closely, to feel the evolution of the piece over time.
As I build these sometimes-complex surfaces and as my own history constantly expands, each shape, mark and layer connect the depth of the past to the shapes, marks and layers yet to come, each painting capturing a moment in time and preparing me for the next. These embedded histories become the heart of each painting, much like we uncover our own histories and experiences to better understand ourselves. Ultimately, through my process I understand myself more deeply with each new painting I create.
I invite you to visit my studio and explore my paintings.