Mark Stanley Jesinoski
Born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota in 1976, Mark Jesinoski
was compelled to paint via the combined influences of
resourceful parents, a strong desire to understand the world
around him, and a stubborn penchant for experiential
learning.
parent’s insatiable need to work and create with their
hands. The amalgam of their strong work ethic, inventive
use of resources and Mark’s radical need for
individuation has manifested constantly in his
development as a painter and person.
kindled by a fervent desire to grow, understand, and
creatively produce. This has found him searching for
meaning and identity through various pursuits that
have taken him from the coal mines of Wyoming to
graduate study in psychology. Accordingly, his
primary methods for learning have been observation
and experience. Indeed, to the frequent
consternation of teachers, acquaintances, and
mentors, Mark invariably learned by doing.
By way of this development Mark’s present style and
methods in painting were not gleaned in the
classroom but were honed by the hands of
experience. Through it all Mark has sought a deeper
understanding and modality for communication with
himself, and his environment, through the looking
glass of paint on canvas.
Please enjoy
I was born and raised in rural Minnesota. I grew up in a
very hands-on, hard working culture. Although I was
never trained or even influenced toward the arts, my
parents, in particular my father, was very influential in
developing my ability to observe, understand, and
manipulate processes. The best examples of this
learning came through carpentry and landscaping, as
well as helping my father adapt machinery to fit his
needs. He was a very creative, inventive sort, without
even knowing it. To this day he will not admit his artistic
ability, but he is a gifted carpenter, welder, and all
around craftsman. I once did a cultural sharing at my
current daytime position as a doctoral resident and held
up two items, a hammer and a paint brush. I held up the
hammer and said, “this is my father and culture. “I held
up the paint brush and said, “this is my father and
culture living through me.” And that’s the best way I can
describe it.
I really can’t say for certain what provoked me to start
picking up a paint brush. I had always been somewhat
interested in drawing, but never formally and never
believing I had any seminal talent. However, with the
influence of my parents, in interaction with some deep
need, and an almost insatiable desire to understand
and learn, I began exploring imagery through painting
around age 21. At that time I was quite isolated,
working in a coal mine in Wyoming, and lacking friends
of similar age and interests. I believe this isolation was
crucial to my development as a painter. As many life
stories reveal, getting away from one’s culture and
norms can be incredibly challenging but nurturing to the
expression and individuation of the self.
The first painting I completed was highly influenced by
Modigliani’s style, with several themes of my own
internal struggles throughout. Again, the fact that it was
Modigliani was somewhat by happenstance as I had
taken to going to the local public library and checking
out all sorts of books and films. From Einstein’s
theories, to books on art, I was really feeding a deep
need to understand. This hunger found me returning to
higher education and later led me to pursue my PhD. in
Clinical Psychology (for the ethical boards out there I
am still all but dissertation). The developmental
process of the latter challenged me to grow in multiple
ways, and helped me to hone my ability to see things
from abstract and theoretical perspectives. This growth
was also highly influential to my development as an
artist as I strongly believe a crucial component of
process is through spiritual, psychological, and
philosophical awareness; I have a long way to go in this
journey as awareness is one thing, attachment another.
My observations and practices regarding the idea of
process have become deliberate in my life as an artist.
Inherent in my training has been moving toward the
ability to at once live life, and see the underlying
processes inherent in daily living. Like the words of a
song in relation to the underlying composition, I see the
content of life as constrained by space and time, while
the process is limitless and transcends time and
culture.
My hope, by this approach, is to articulate elements of
my experience, my observations of the world around
me, and the underlying currents therein, through the
images I create. At the same time I try not to take
myself to seriously and simply enjoy life as it comes.
Please Enjoy,
Mark Jesinoski
