Mark Bletcher (He/Him), Artist
Artist Biography
Mark Bletcher (b.1995, UK) lives and works in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He received his BA in Fine Art from Newcastle University (2019) and is currently completing an MFA at Newcastle University with graduation expected in 2027. He received the Elizabeth Greenshields Award (2023-4) and received the Gwen May Award from the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (2020). Notably, he has exhibited for the North East Open Call (2024), OHSH Projects (2023), Northern Print (2023), Newcastle Contemporary (2022) and Gallagher and Turner (2022).
Artist Statement
"I work primarily with oil painting, alongside drawing,printmaking, and processes of collage, layering and image transfer. I am drawnto slow, physical media and processes that demand time and materials engagement.Pigments, mediums and painting surface hold resonance for me and are asimportant as the images I choose to paint. My work can be both flat and havedepth; it can be an illusion and a reality.
Storytelling is central to my work, not only as a subjectbut as a medium in itself. I think of painting as a portal into another place,an invented world that is fragmented and half-remembered. My images often beginfrom observation, but are warped, broken or rearranged through collage. Thisshift of perspective and layering is essential to my work; traces ofunderpainting, transfers and textural marks remain visible beneath finer paintso the surface holds multiple histories at once.
Thematically, my work is concerned with the mythic and theunconscious, and with the expression of outsiderness. Fantasy becomes a toolfor navigating marginalisation, queer identity, mental illness, neurodiversity,and the pressure to articulate the self within wider social and politicalcontexts. I am to give a form to the feeling out outsiderness itself, thoughworlds that are at once dreamy and unnerving, romantic yet melancholy.
Literature and lived experience inform my work, fromclassical myth to magical realism, as well as ideas about dreams and thesubconscious. My palette of blues and browns ties the practice together,lending an otherworldly light. Ultimately, I want my paintings to open a portalwhere viewers can step into another world, imagine its fragmented stories, anddwell in its tension between beauty and unease."
If you wish to contact the artist about his work, please fill out the inquiry form below.
Professional Roles and Links
Mark is also the founder and director of Creative Workshops NE CIC, which delivers accessible art workshops across the North East, and co-founder and director of Foolish Magpie, a design-led creative studio.
To contact Mark about his work for Creative Workshops NE CIC, please email creativeworkshopscic@gmail.com
To contact Mark about his work for Foolish Magpie, please email foolishmagpieshop@gmail.com
To contact Mark about workshops, teaching, speaking or other artist activities, please email markbletcher@gmail.com
Professional Membership
Mark is a Member of the Artist Union and Artist Network.
Access & Identity
I am a queer, neurodiverse and disabled artist living with long-term health conditions. I am autistic and dyslexic, and I also experience mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. These aspects of my identity shape how I work and how I experience the world.
Clear communication, written information, and planning support are helpful in collaborative or public-facing projects.
I am committed to making my practice accessible, inclusive, and supportive, especially for people from marginalised or underrepresented communities. I welcome partnerships with organisations, charities, and groups that share these values.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the individuals, organisations and funders who have supported and believed in my work. Your encouragement and collaboration make this practice possible.
- The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation
- The Newbridge Project
Last updated September 2025
Image: Dancing lights, 2023, Ink on Paper (Custom Frame) 21 x 21 cm (33.5 x 33.5 cm)
(Top)Photo credit Ameila Reed @Ameliajanephoto