Mark Green Art

07/22/2026

Always a great time painting in the Storybook Garden for Wine and Roses.

Here we have some shots thanks to The Discovery Center of the Southern Tier photographer of me painting, and from myself showing my set up.

I got to be next to my wife's station (thanks for bringing me food and drink). And with clear view of the stage for Kipani.

Despite ample cover to be hidden in plain sight I was spotted it seems. As a self proclaimed Gothic Hippie I like to be something like a rainbow vampire, spreading light from the shadows.

Shout out to Dio for the paradox twinning.

I shared my color pallete here, but check out Blutarkart for the progress. This one isnt necessarily part of any planned series... just a play with color theory and style to see where it takes me.

It was fun to be free for an evening with Mandi. But now that the weeks begun, I already took our young ones back for a visit in the usual fashion hehe.

07/18/2026

1 more week to see everyone's works celebrating America's 250th!

Each piece is accompanied by some words by the artist.

Though you had to be there to hear the poetry out loud and the beautiful song about the Susquehanna River. Made me appreciate it's beauty more.

I need pull the kayak out again soon...

07/17/2026

Excited to paint in the Storybook Garden tonight!

Food and Drink provided from local and regional craft vendors. Live music from Kipani and more. Always a fun event!

If you've followed my pages you know how much the kids and I love visiting here (when it's not an adult only event like this hehe).

Tickets are still available online at Discovery Center website, and at the "door". Hope to see you there!

💛 Sip, savor, and support hands-on learning in our community!

Every ticket purchased for An Evening of Wine & Roses directly supports The Discovery Center’s unique educational programs designed to spark curiosity and imagination for local children.

Join us Friday, July 17 from 5:30–8PM for a wonderful evening celebrating our mission in the Story Garden!

🌟 Your Evening Includes:
Live music by KIPANI, Gordy Gottlieb, and Lorraine Bates
Local plein air artists & basket raffle
After-hours exhibit exploration

Sips & treats from: Rocco J. Testani, 205 Dry, Sheldrake Point Winery, Dragonfyre Distillery, 1911 Established / Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, Beer Tree Brew Co, Better Daze Winery, Priest Ranch Wines, Boundary Breaks Vineyard, Gallagher Olive Oil, Celebrations on Park, Red & White Catering, DiCottas, DoubleTree by Hilton, and Jarets Stuffed Cupcakes.

🎟️ Reserve Ahead: Tickets WILL be available at the door, but booking in advance saves you time on event night! https://thediscoverycenter.org/event/an-evening-of-wine-roses-2026

🙌 This event is made possible by our wonderful community sponsors:
Miller Auto Team • Hinman, Howard & Kattell • BAE Systems • Libby & Leo O'Connor • Jen Sopko / Warren Real Estate • Russell & Russell • David & Marci Goodwin • Delta Engineers, Architects, Land Surveyors, & Landscape Architects, DPC • SERVPRO of Broome, Tompkins & Tioga Counties • Tioga State Bank Foundation • J.S. Miller Appraisal Associates, LLC • Knowledgeworx, LLC • SureTemp • Williams Toyota of Binghamton • Gentle Dental Care • Visions Wealth Management • UHS • NBT Bank • Lesko Financial Services, Inc. • 205 Dry • Uncorked Creations •

07/16/2026

Thanks Broome County Arts Council for hosting a reading of poetry, talks on our pieces, a song, and even a video from the contributions made for the show to celebrate the many perspectives of our country's 250th year.

It was great to hear everyone's feelings from their hearts to ours.

Instead of my usual over planning, or a verbatim reading of what I wrote for my piece, I tried to speak on the spirit of what it meant to me. To summarize, and probably make for a better progression lol.

I was never overly patriotic. But as times gone on I do appreciate where I live, and the many people who call it home.

To me it's never been about who you support or how you think it should be, it's about working at it, and appreciating each other, especially when we disagree, because we are in it together. I celebrate our differences. It makes us who we are as a culture.

The opposite of fighting for any side is apathy, or giving up. I have more faith in my brothers and sisters, than in anyone who writes this or that law. They all come and go. But the spirit of our communities continue. We are what make our country what it is and what it will be.

06/18/2026

I'm learning to recognize what needs action and what can wait. Most days, anyway.

Not because it's obvious. Because of what trying to do anything while watching my kids has taught me.

Most mornings start with coffee, tea, or a Celsius, depending on the day. That's also when I go over the plan for everything ahead.

Except I never know how long that window actually is. Could be an hour. Could be zero, if they're up the same time I am.

The rest of the day is the routine, hopefully. Breakfast. Finding clothes. Neglecting to style Mina's hair... I leave that one to Mandi. She would never skip that, but I get the pass if she's left the house already 🤫

Today she was home though... so I had assistance with style alongside some resistance to our escape.

Then whatever outing we've got going. Naps might happen after. Or they might not.

Eventually Mandi's home, we switch off, and I get my own time. Same deal, though... I never really know how much of it I'll have either.

Karate taught me something about all this. Awareness and timing are everything. I can't just go in with a plan of attack. I have to stay present enough to act and react based on what's actually going on, with whatever actually fits the moment.

Same thing applies whether I've got an hour with the kids or an hour without them. I try to read the window, figure out what needs action, and trust the rest can wait. Then hope I don't get sidetracked with other productive things that aren't as important lol.

This post is a pretty good example. I sat down with it a dozen times today. Sometimes I'd get a sentence in. Sometimes the second I sat down, someone needed me... or just noticed I was sitting down. In between, there was food, dishes, whatever needed handling next.

Either way… I got to what need action the most. Just not in the order, or the time, I thought I would.

06/16/2026

Happy Birthday Create With Mandi!

We had a sitter last night, so I did double duty in the daytime with the kids to prepare a nice at home date. Charcuterie, craft cocktail, and oxtails.

Mandi teased me about my spread looking nice "for a man". I know i could do better! I didn't flower the meat all pretty, I'm not just a man, I'm an art-tist. Since we don't get a lot of quiet time together it seemed like the best choice.

We decided on a movie since it's hard to watch one with the little ones running about, demanding my attention lol. She picked Scream 7, so probably better they weren't around to see Ghostface.

Figured I'd also share my good excuses to not be creating or posting the last few days. In the thick of our June holiday gauntlet. Up next, Anniversary and Fathers Day.

All I gave was a tease of the next series, based on an old work... I'll try to share something in progress soon!

06/12/2026

10 years ago... and even before that, I was the guy who'd go get more wood for the fire, even in the dark. Tending it. Keeping it going. Making sure nobody had to ask twice.

This piece came out of a stretch of time I didn't see coming. I wasn't expected to be at my business every day anymore. My partners had it covered. Suddenly I had hours I hadn't had in years. And I don't sit still well.

It wasn't long after that my wife Mandi got me some blacklight reactive paint. I don't know if she knew what it would do, but it cracked something open. I started painting again. Really painting, for the first time in a long time.

Before all that, when I was younger, almost everything I made was realistic, usually recreated from a photo. The first piece I made when I came back was a virus in a bloodstream, something I imagined instead. That one pushed me toward something looser. It felt like freedom.

After that, it became more of a mix. Some pieces were freeform. Some were planned out patterns. Others were experiments, testing how different paint mixtures would move so I could start to learn what they'd do, and eventually have a little more control over it.

This piece was different. I had something specific in mind this time, but like the virus piece, I wanted it to come from imagination instead of a photo. The woods set the scene. The fire was the point. And it was something I actually loved doing in my free time, finally showing up in the work.

A lot has changed since then. Back then I had one kid, and he was old enough that I still had real stretches of time to myself. Now there's three of them, two of them small, and that kind of open time doesn't happen the same way anymore.

But the effort hasn't gone down. If anything it's gone up. I just point it differently now. Less about making as much as I can, more about making things that mean something, and figuring out how to share them in a way that might land for someone else too.

This was the spark. An early study. Now I'm ready to add some tinder and get it burning brighter.

06/09/2026

I was planning a night at the studio with Matt. After our busy days, he suggested a fire instead.

Matt thought it would be good for me. Fresh air, a fire, nothing required of me. But I'd been running so empty that even relaxing felt like effort. Sleep sounded better. A fire still required me to be somewhere.

He was right. Just not in the way he thought. The fire wasn't the point. The idea of it was.

A fire has stages. It starts, builds to a moderate burn, rages when it's really going, and smolders back down. There's a time for each. None of them are wrong.

The next day I planned to sit with that — journal it out, mix my paints, get moving. Neither happened. A family emergency pulled me out before I could start.

Which was the lesson again. June is full. There are things I can't control and I won't get as much studio time as I want. But I'm done raging against it.

Slow down. Conserve some fuel. A smolder is still a fire.