Mark Kohler depicts the independent spirit of the modern working cowboy with all the passion he feels for his proud subjects.  "I applaud the values and self-sufficiency of the working cowboy.  And through the use of watercolor and it's translucent quality, I can show reflected light in unique ways.  Each painting becomes an opportunity to portray my subjects as they deserve to be, with dignity.  Watercolor has been a challenging as well as fulfilling medium for me.  Learning how to handle the paint and developing my own style were the biggest obstacles I had to overcome.  I have a flexible palette and my working process is relatively simple.  I work from photographs, and when I begin a painting, I use big, broad color washes, using mostly wet-into-wet techniques.  I refine and tighten up the painting, and finish with a dry brush technique to complete the details.  The watercolor paper I use is handmade and very distinctive ... it adds to the integrity of my paintings."

Mark has spent the last 13 years traveling the  American West from Texas to California and from Arizona to Montana.  "Everywhere I've traveled, I've had the good fortune to meet hard-working, decent men and women who are following a life-style that is, at the same time, both noble and disappearing.  It's my privilege to chronicle their struggle to keep the tradition of the West alive."

Mark is represented by McLarry Fine Art Art in Santa Fe, NM; Pinon Fine Art in Littleton, CO;  and the Hunt Gallery in San Antonio, TX.  Interested parties may also contact the artist directly through this website.

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