Mark Weber: A Port City Artist and Illustrator

Mark Weber’s creativity as a meticulous artist and seasoned illustrator makes it impossible to box him into one category. He welcomes a blank canvas with a variety of styles intertwined with rich layers of textures and tones. His paintings connect him to people and can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the United States and Europe.

He’s known for crafting art paintings of vibrant fanciful animals set in lush tropical settings. Weber is also highly respected and celebrated for highlighting everyday life in the South through his art.

Originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, he had the good fortune of attending a high school that was also a trade school. This opportunity allowed him to develop and nurture his passion for art, building a solid foundation of hands-on experience working with commercial art, silk screen and fine art. He started his career freelancing as an illustrator for a newspaper in Erie. Weber maintained a harmonious relationship with the company until 2010, when much of the newspaper scene slowly vanished from the publishing world.

He got his big break in 1999 with Rolling Stone magazine’s October edition that featured an original illustration of his. He’s gone on to work with top tier publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and a host of others. Within time, Weber ventured into the field of children’s books where he became an illustrator of Little Toot and the Lighthouse, The Pirate Princess and Paul Bunyan, to name a few. His love of children’s stories continued as he illustrated the entire King School series for Townsend Press from 2005 to 2010. This collection is a series of books written to help educate urban youths.

Weber continues to freelance with a special preference for fine art as it allows him to freely express himself. Wilmington has been home since 2010, and he enjoys the bold creativity that everyday life in the South offers. This ranges from the mesmerizing Carolina blue skies to the breathtaking beaches and interesting swamps. His signature animal, the alligator can be spotted dominating most of his canvas as his art tells memorable stories of culture in the South.

“It’s me against the canvas,” says Weber.

For the past five years, he’s gotten deeply into tropical expressions of art with various animals as his subject. His approach involves a mixture of different patterns, bold colors and acrylic inks. He credits nature, living in North Carolina, and using his imagination as his source of inspiration.

Today, he continues to freelance to the beat of his own drum. He was recently featured as an illustrator in another children’s book entitled Tales of Woods Edge and is working on illustrations for a second book with the same company. This August, he’s hosting an art exhibition at Acme Art Gallery and actively painting signature pieces to display for the show.