An Interview with Mark Noble
Creative Health Camden chatted with Mark Noble to hear about his work as a Somerset based artist and as an ambassador for the Outside In programme.
Note that some answers have been edited for clarity.
A recent wooden bodyboard Mark painted with a Cornish seaside.
So Mark, can you tell us about how you got into art?
That’s actually been a long process over most of my life. When I first went to school I started drawing butterflies or anything else I desired. Then when I went to a SEN school for my dyslexia, there were different classes where I could draw different images. And this is when it really began. Then through my work life I did different pieces of art, eventually I went back to university, and they had a module on art, and since then I’ve never really looked back.
Amazing, so how old were you when you started doing art?
Probably most of my life, but the serious, creative side of it probably kicked in around 2001. So from my early-to-late thirties.
So you’ve been doing it most of your life then?
Yeah, but when I was bringing up my children and grandchildren, that took some time away from my art. But it’s all about having that fine balance.
I’d love to know about your creative process, can you please tell me?
Normally, if I’m on a project. I take 2-3 days and I look at different ideas. So if I’m going to paint a moonscape I will normally think about it for 3-4 days and then start with preliminary drawings. Then I’ll look into the quality of materials, for example, at the moment I’m looking at painting different universes on wood. So normally I would leave the wood out in the rain to make sure it’s absorbed it, and then I would do sketches, then gradually layer paint over it. Then I might leave it out in the elements for a couple of days, so they have a chance to play in it. Some of the paint traps the natural world. Each piece of wood is also a slightly different surface, so I go layer, by layer, photograph and record it then start all over again. I’m using sustainability all the time in my work.
Most of my work comes from my own head, including the clouds, skies, and the natural world.
Sublime Sunset by Mark Noble
I would love to know more about your role in Outside In…
Well, Outside In is based in Brighton. It’s a charity that works with artists with disabilities. The whole idea is to give artists a platform, who face barriers into the art world. As an ambassador I make connections with various galleries, museums, and organisations to spread the word. I think art world needs to hear from people who are slightly different; people that are slightly deaf, blind, in wheelchairs or have dyslexia like me.
I completely agree with you, I think the art world needs different voices. This leads me onto the next question. As a charity we put on art workshops that help with our patient’s health. I just wanted to ask whether your art helps with your health.
I think so, because being severely dyslexic. This has led to problems around communication, for me writing and reading doesn’t really work. So I use art as a visual language, so painting can convey a million words. So I use art as a visual tool to express by points of view. That’s how I use art.
Last question, at the moment, what is your favourite thing to paint?
At the moment that would be sunrises and sunsets. And different moods of the climate. At the moment I am working on quite big pieces in the garden that use familiar settings but put them in a different reality or universe. This is to make people think about our environments.
Cosmic Tor by Mark Noble
Mark then ended the interview with this:
‘If you have a disability, I would encourage you to try art, I myself have had dark times, and art has helped me’.
We thank Mark for his time and are looking forward to seeing what he paints next! Check out his website here.