Mood through Shape and Color
Mark A. Vander Vinne, a Northwest Indiana artist, utilizes shape, design, and color to establish a distinctive ambiance in his original oil paintings of landscapes. After graduating from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Mark continued his education through workshops with master landscape artists, including Scott Christensen, Marc Hanson, and Kenn Backhaus. However, he has been most influenced by the American Tonalist and Impressionist movements, which express emotions through different and distinct means: tonalism through the simplicity of design and simplified value structure, and impressionism through color and brushwork. Mark's artistic style is characterized by simplified shapes and colors that create a strong sense of place, mood, and narrative.
Mark most recently won 2nd place in the Nocturne category at the Bluff Strokes Plein Air event. In 2022, he received a 1st place award at the IPAPA (Indiana Plein Air Painters Association) Members Exhibit, a 1st place award in the Nocturne category at Bluff Strokes Plein Air, a special award for Orchard and Farms at Paint Grand Traverse, and Best of Show at the Culver Paint Out in Culver, IN put on by IPAPA.
