Williamston native and regular
Lansing Art Gallery exhibitor
Mark Mehaffey was one of 15 outstanding artists at this year’s
Watercolor Biennial
art exhibition in Zhujiajiao, Shanghai, China. Out of 230 artists
handpicked to exhibit at the event, 24 of whom were American, Mehaffey
found himself in the top 15.
“To be perfectly honest, this is quite an honor,” says Mehaffey, who
has been painting for 50 years. “Somehow or another, I was chosen.”
The event is held every two years, but this is the first year it was an
international event, featuring artists from outside of China. Mehaffey
won $4,400 and an all-expense paid trip to Shanghai. His work
will also be part of the permanent collection at
Quanhua Watercolour Art Gallery in Shanghai.
Mehaffeys winning piece is called is Monolith IV, and is part of his five-part
Monolith series, which he calls “translucent watercolors.” He says watercolor painting represents about 50 percent of his work.
Mehaffey attended Lansing Public Schools,
Lansing Community College (LCC) and
Michigan State University. He taught art
education at LCC until 8 years ago and has held private classes ever
since.
Equally fun as the competition was the time he spent in Shanghai
with his wife, where they never had a bad meal, he says.
Source: Mark Mehaffey
Writer: Andy Balaskovitz
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