The Waterfowl Festival is proud to announce painter Mark Eberhard as the 2012 Waterfowl Festival Featured Artist. Following the successful partnership with sculptor Don Rambadt in 2011, the Featured Artist program has evolved into an annual initiative to showcase the quality and variety of the art presented by the Waterfowl Festival.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Mark this year,” comments Waterfowl Festival Executive Director Judy Price. “Mark has been a long-time supporter of the Festival and our mission and we’re looking forward to working with him. We are impressed by his unique approach and believe his work depicts wildlife and nature in a different way that will appeal to new and returning Festival visitors.”
As Featured Artist, Eberhard will create an original painting that will be available exclusively at the Festival. The image will be unveiled later this Spring and will also be the inspiration for the 2012 Festival Poster and promotional materials.
“To be chosen from all of the amazing and talented painters who participate in the Festival is truly an honor,” commented Eberhard on
his selection as Featured Artist. “The Festival is a total package with the entire town extending a heartfelt hospitality to artists, vendors and visitors alike. There is such a wonderful cadre of volunteers running this professional show in the beautiful town of Easton and everyone is always so sincerely happy to welcome us.”
The Cincinnati native has exhibited at the Festival since 2002 and is known for his minimal and innovative artistic composition that focuses more on the “commonplace than the grand.” Eberhard has been interested in art since he received his first bird book from his grandparents at age five. He went on to earn a BS in Design from the University of Cincinnati and later a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University. He and his wife, Alice, owned a graphic design business before he turned to painting full-time.
When asked about his art he shared, “To me, less is more. I want people to enjoy looking at my paintings and to see the beauty and humanity in nature that I see. A bare tree branch can be just as beautiful and moving as a Grand Canyon vista. To me each bird or animal is such an incredible jewel. I strive to emphasize that through my composition and minimal background. I do hope that my paintings may somehow lead others to see the beauty that I see in our natural world and perhaps by seeing the beauty there, they will choose not to destroy this sacred Earth or her many inhabitants.”
One of Eberhard’s paintings, On the Edge, is currently the centerpiece of an exhibition at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and depicts six birds that are on the edge – of the canvas and extinction. The exhibition also features works by historic and contemporary artists including John James Audubon, Paul Jouve, Jessie Arms Botke and Andy Warhol that address this same subject.
As seen by his work and passion for nature and its preservation, Eberhard is a great partner in the Festival’s conservation mission. “I especially like all the great work for conservation that the Festival has been able to accomplish and I am proud to be part of those efforts through the sales of my artwork over the years. I can’t think of any effort more worthy to support. From all my years exhibiting at the Festival, I truly believe a person would be hard-pressed to find a better example of community involvement anywhere in the country.”
About the Waterfowl Festival
Waterfowl Festival, Inc. is dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the celebration of life on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The 42nd Festival will be held November 9-11, 2012 in historic Easton, Md. For more information, to volunteer or to donate, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call 410-822-4567.
To learn more about Mark Eberhard and his work visit www.markeberhard.com.
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