Mark Joyce - Original painting

MARK JOYCE began painting as a teenager. A graduate of Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design, Joyce studied Model making and SFX in film while continuing to pursue his artistic passion.

Inspired by mountain climbing in the Twelve Bens and the Maam Turk ranges, Joyce now paints the dramatic scenery of Connemara. Mark Joyce has created a unique style of his own, bringing elements of classic impressionism together with modern expressionism and adding a dash of “plein-air style.” His paintings stand out in a crowd, bringing a fresh new look to contemporary Western landscapes. 

 Impressionism has a long history of painters that push the boundaries of artistic techniques. The original Impressionists used small, thin brush strokes laid side by side to capture the light and movement of a transient scene. Following in their footsteps, many styles of painting have since been developed by pioneers of Art.

Open-Impressionism catches the attention at once as being a new style of painting. The colors are vibrant, and un-mudded. The thick brush strokes are left to exist as they are placed, which preserves every tiny ridge in the paint left by the brush. This medley of texture pulls the eye along in an ever-moving dance within the landscape. From day break to sun down, the changing light over the surface of a painting flows in and out of the crevices in the paint, trailing behind itself ever changing shadows and colors.

The purpose of Open-Impressionism is to capture the true feeling of being outdoors, each painting more of an emotional work than a photographic representation. The wind pushing against your back, prickling the sweat in your hair, your feet sinking into the damp earth beneath an oak tree, eyes squinting against the sun, burrs in your socks, eyes moving endlessly across a perfect idyllic landscape; the purpose of a painting is to capture these fleeting experiences in a few swabs of paint.

Fewer strokes is better in Open-Impressionism. Rich vibrant colours and heavy impasto strokes, he captures the light on the hills and the vernacular cottages of his home land.

Mark Joyce’s work is held in private collections around the world, and can be seen on numerous poster commissions