Encouraged by an artistic family environment, Mark Alan Burnett’s early ability was inspired by wide travel and visits to art museums in Europe, the Orient and the United States. His father, a well-known portrait artist and western sculptor, encouraged Mark to pursue art as a career but he selected other paths.
After studying both Art and Environmental Design at the University of Colorado in Boulder, he designed and built homes in Estes Park, managed a bookstore/cafe in Denver, and worked in advertising. Finally, at 30 years of age, Mark returned “home” to his creative potential and became a full-time portrait artist in 1982.
Since moving to Nashville, Mark has completed portraits for clients in Nashville, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Memphis, Montgomery, Knoxville, St. Louis, Colorado, Florida, and Germany. Because of his keen observation, patience, skill and empathy, his portraits are so full of life that you are deeply touched by them.
Currently Vice President and Member of Merit of the Portrait Society of Atlanta, he was selected as one of the “Top Ten in Tennessee” in 2006 and 2007 by the Portrait Society of America.
In 1991, he won first place for Distinguished Achievement in Portraiture in the national competition in Atlanta. He was one of ten finalists in the international competition of the American Society of Portrait Artists at Montgomery in 1994.
At the 1984 National Artist’s Seminar in Chicago, he was a finalist in the competition.
