Extremely Detailed Portraits on Vintage Paper Ephemera

Through simple means artist Mark Powell tells a story that, in a way, unfolds over decades.  Often wielding only a basic ball point pen, Powell draws extremely detailed portraits, attempting to capture what his statement calls “a certain beauty that is a step away from the image of beauty fed to society.”  His subjects are frequently older men and women, pensive, hinting at a long life story.  Appropriately, Powell’s portraits are executed on vintage maps, old documents and other ephemera of a time long past.  Together, they suggest the unfolding story that led to the present moment, a context perhaps easily taken for granted.