Artist Statement:

"I paint life's joys.  I feel truly blessed to be able to create and share happiness through oil painting. My visual stories are revealed through impressions of city, boat, beach, and other memorable scenes"

Mark was taught to draw at an early age by his mother, Elizabeth Daly and Woodhull Young, a marine painter and curator of the Vanderbilt Museum. More recently, CW Mundy has mentored Mark in oil painting. Daly has exhibited in many group and solo shows. His work is in distinguished private, corporate, and university collections, worldwide. He has received prominent awards in national juried art exhibitions.

Mark serves on the board of directors and is a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society (AIS). In addition, he is a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA), a member of Oil Painters of America (OPA), Artist Member of the Greenacres Artist Guild, and Signature Member of The Cincinnati Art Club. Daly has studios in Maine and Ohio. He travels worldwide to paint.

Mark has been blessed with several God-given talents. Besides painting, he is a composer of original mandolin music and a voting member of the Grammys. He has a business background, is author of Ten Treasures, The Strategic Playbook for Business Success and

Five Steps to Board Success.  He has served on many business and not-for-profit boards. Mark has leveraged the wisdom from his musical, business, and life experiences to be a better painter.

Mark graduated from Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences. He has a master's degree from The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Artist Interview

1) Why Do I Do What I Do?

I paint to share happiness through oil paint. My visual stories are revealed through joyful impressions of city, sea, and other memorable scenes.

2) What Sustains You?

Continual challenge and learning along the art journey…the quest for a more compelling visual story (arrangement of values, shapes, colors, edges, and textures) where I can attempt to capture the right blend of mood and emotion, leverage all of the senses, and share even more happiness.

3) What Quotes Inspire You?

“While happiness itself is sought for its own sake, every other goal – health, beauty, money, or power – is valued only because we expect that it will make us happy” (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi).

“Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something” (Kurt Vonnegut).

“Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life” (Pablo Picasso).

“Don't ever let anyone tell you how to/not to create. There's no wrong way of making art or anything else for that matter. Life does not have a ceiling on it. Be bold, be you (Vincent Xeus).”

“The idea is not to live forever but to create something that will” (Andy Warhol).