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Mark Michael Cullen -- Paintings, Prints, and Whatnot

mmcullen's Shop Announcement

I have been making art since I was a child, and it is something that I have to do. It is compulsive, really. If I do not make art for a while, I start to feel off-balance.

Through the years, I have been represented by galleries, and collected by libraries, museums, and private collectors all over the globe. I have lived in San Francisco, Madrid, and Kanazawa (Japan), but I have always considered the Midwest to be my home.

My wife is Japanese, and is from the city of Aomori. We tend to visit her family every 12-18 months. Aomori is the birthplace of master printmaker Munakata Shiko. Whenever I am there, we go to the Munakata Museum to check out his incredible woodcuts.

My son Jack also likes to draw and paint. I may have to get him an Etsy account in a few years. He just entered 5th grade. My daughter Hana arrived 1 year ago. Hopefully, she will be a scribbler as well, but it is too early to tell.

As for the artwork, my influences are: Modigliani, Matisse, and Japanese woodblock artists. Other sources of inspiration are: children, children's picture books, cartoons, and animation. Stylistically, people say they can recognize a "Cullen," but I don't think I consciously invented those notions. I just do what I do, and I humbly acknowledge my limitations.

Sometimes, it is easier for me to explain all of this, or parts of it, if someone asks me a question. I am a Reference Librarian by day, so that process has become ingrained, and second nature.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

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TO SEE MORE ARTWORK (cut-and-paste):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmcullenart/