Mark G. Picascio, painter and photographer, was born in Los Angeles, California on September 12th, 1961. Raised in Agoura Hills, near Malibu Beach, he studied painting at the College of the Canyons in Valencia, California while also majoring in Advertising Design and Illustration Graphics at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, L.A.
When he was 12 years old, Picascio began painting representational illustrative pieces of art on paper in water color. These paintings combined graphic shapes with organic forms in collage configurations. He then moved on to architectural illustration in water color and pen and ink. With precise water color techniques and skills, he worked for many of Southern California's premiere architectural design firms as a designer and presentation artist.
While working in architecture and design, including production design for commercials in movie studios in Southern California, Picascio was able to have his first art exhibitions from 1991 to 1999. Following his emergence into the art community, the artist was faced with a life threatening car accident resulting in his retirement from his architectural career. It was at this point that Mark G. Picascio shifted focus on his paintings from water color on paper to acrylic on canvas.
In 2001, the tragedy of 9/11 brought him to New York to visit friends who were terribly affected by 9/11 tragedy. One year later, he returned for his first exhibition in New York which revealed his new paintings entitled "Elevation Lines" in February 2003. While in New York, he was introduced to a New York structural engineer who was working on the 9/11 Recovery Projects assisting museums with the remembrance efforts for the World Trade Center. With the help of this engineer, Picascio was able to photograph the ruins of salvaged steel beams of the World Trade Center.
September 2003 brought another New York exhibition to Picascio's schedule. Based on his experiences of what he saw and emotions from the intense impressions left on him in February of that year, Picascio exhibited the photographs and paintings. The 2003 exhibition was titled "September 11th Memorial Exhibition" at the Ward-Nasse Gallery in Soho New York, presented by Watson & Spierman Fine Art, New York.
Mark G. Picascio has continued to exhibit in New York since his first visit in 2001 and has many collectors from New York to California, including prominent architects and interior designers. He currently resides in Southern California and calls Manhattan his second home.
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