Willoughby Fine Art Gallery

The varied work of this award winning artist has appeared in museums, galleries, libraries and a wide range of publications from the Boston Globe to the website of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. His original paintings, books, and prints are in public and private collections from Martha’s Vineyard to Australia.

Mark is a 1983 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where teachers included oil painter Trent Burleson, artist and author Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, The Polar Express), Bauhaus colorist Sy Silman, writer and illustrator David Macaulay (The Way Things Work) and pastel artist Tony Janello.

Mark Shasha has a well rounded education in the fine arts with a strong emphasis on drawing and painting into the world of narrative art-illustration. For many years he worked as a professional illustrator further honing his drawing skills in newspapers, magazines, and award-winning books published by Simon & Schuster and The Purple House Press. His first book, Night of the Moonjellies, is considered by The Smithsonian to be a classic of children’s literature.

Since leaving commercial illustration several years ago, Mark has been a full time studio artist. He is particularly drawn to the richness of the New England coastline where he has lived since childhood. Mark’s subjects are often familiar, realistic and figurative, and he conveys his particular fascination with the timeless and magical qualities of reflected light on water, in the atmosphere and on the unique textures found at the edge of the sea.

Mark enjoys broad based gallery representation; he has participated in numerous one man and group shows, and has been the recipient many awards during his distinguished career. “Though my subjects are often simple and familiar, I am continuously inspired by the mystery of the creative process. Textures and colors, light, water and sand, continue to reinvent themselves in this fascinating journey of discovery.”

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