We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mark A. Lembo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mark A. below.
Mark A., looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
As an artist, you face risk in everything from the first brush stroke, to putting the finished product out there, to making sure the bills get paid so you can continue the journey. With that risk, though, can come great freedom and even joy.
You can never foretell where an introduction, exhibit opportunity or Facebook post, for that matter, may lead. I look back to rolling the dice on my first submissions to a juried event. Talk about a ‘black box experiment!’ You have no clue where you may stand until the results are revealed. But, the first acceptance builds confidence and leads to more entries, which should lead to more exhibits – and the cycle begins. Most of my local connections and activities resulted from an early opportunity to display work in a local mall’s vacant store fronts. A recent sale to someone out of town resulted from a listing on our county Arts Alliance website. You just never know until you try, and there is always risk involved with trying.
You have to embrace the unknown and have faith in the outcome – be it a small work on the table or the path to whatever you become. Perhaps, the most difficult lesson to learn is letting go and accepting the little ‘imperfections’ in a work, or in the discovery of an unexpected path. The resulting freedom from not obsessing over minute details can be exciting. It may take a while to learn to let go (or to unlearn holding on) but there can be benefits.
All that said, an important partner to risk-taking is feedback. You must remain organized, focused and moving forward. It’s not just waiting for serendipity to define your path. With every step, outreach, post, entry, brush stroke you get some level of feedback. Here is where letting go can be a challenge. It is a balancing act. On the one hand, you want to avoid the minute details but, on the other hand, feedback is a stream of minute details. It may take a while to perfect the balancing act, but you can manage it.
Accept the risk. Take action. Listen. Balance. Repeat.
Mark A., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My journey into the world of creative arts started with the question, “What would Jackson Pollock’s work look like if he had used transparent watercolors?” So, it was away with the pencils, pens, and brushes, and on to the pouring of various aqueous solutions. Along the way, I found it to be quite calming to be “in the zone” loosely applying media and allowing a work to develop seemingly on its own. It turns out fans and collectors found the works to be “joyful” and “calming,” as well.
My work blurs the distinction between alcohol ink and watercolor. I work with dyes, inks, liquid acrylic, liquid watercolor, and other aqueous media – mixed or used individually. The work has dynamic, organic, and passive qualities. While just the primary colors may be aggressively administered, little attempt is made to control the flow or interactions – save the application of masking and the choice of media. Lately, I have incorporated metallic watercolor and pearlescent ink for some interesting effects. While the bulk of my work is abstract, I have done occasional representational works to ‘cleanse the palette.’
Since 2020, I have been a member of the Professional Association of Visual Artists (PAVA), based in Dunedin, FL – sponsor of the annual Cool Art Show, which will enjoy its 34th anniversary July 22-23, 2023 in St Pete. I am also a member of St. Petersburg-based Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA), Tampa Regional Artists (TRA), and The Exhibiting Artist Association (TESA).
In late-2022, I was blessed to receive a micro-grant from the Gobioff Foundation and a Professional Development Grant from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, as well as to stage my first solo exhibit, “Non-linear” in the Corridor Gallery at the Carrollwood Cultural Center.
See more at:
https://www.ScriptM.co
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I would like to see even more collaboration between government/retail/commercial entities and artists.
Projects like ‘Zero Empty Spaces’ that convert vacant mall space to studio/retail/exhibit space are a win/win. In Lakeland, Art Crawl works with Parks and Recreation Department to share wall space with local artists. City Hall in Brooksville, FL, has every inch of wall space covered with rotating exhibits sharing the work of local artists.
Affordable studio space and corresponding opportunities to display finished works should be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Affordable studio space and corresponding opportunities to display finished works could be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I have to go old school on this question. Having been in sales, marketing, customer service, QA, and consulting, much of my training was in Total Quality Management.
While some of the tenets may need altering for the arts, ‘Plan/Do/Check/Act’ and ‘Customer #1 Attitude’ are universal. Needless to say, project management is a skill set that has helped in the creation, exhibition, and marketing of art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ScriptM.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scriptmabstractart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/script-m-abstract-art/
Image Credits
Script M Abstract Art by Mark A. Lembo