30 Years with Mark Hayden
< Self Portrait
Celebrating 30 years with the GHAA!
Mark Hayden graduated from Montserrat School of Visual Art and attended the Art Students League, continuing to develop his art and eventually beginning to teach others, establishing himself locally as an outstanding talent. His talent and achievements have been recognized beyond the North Shore: he received the prestigious Schroeder Award for Excellence in Portraiture and was awarded the distinction of Copley Master; he was featured in an article by Charles Movalli in American Artist Magazine; and he’s represented by The Artists of New England. He continues to be a prolific and versatile artist, working in various mediums and subject matter, and teaches classes in his Bradford studio.
For 30 years he has served as the teacher/mentor for the GHAA Saturday Workshops. These sessions feature a clothed model for figure/portrait work and a still life arrangement. Mark circulates and gently coaches one-on-one, his quiet demeanor and mentoring style earning him the respect and gratitude of all who attend the workshops. Mark has made the Saturday Workshops a unique venue for artists of all ages and abilities to gather and create, supported by his expertise and by the camaraderie of fellow participants. There is no other artistic experience quite like it anywhere, and we are ever so grateful for Mark’s wealth of knowledge and his willingness to share it with us over three decades.
The works of Mark Hayden
© copyright Mark Hayden
Drawings by James Tinguely
A tribute by fellow artist James Tinguely
“ We’ve been friends for nearly 40 years, since the mid 80’s.
How well I remember his Isuzu Trooper parked by Franks studio in the Mercantile Building, where we painted together.
I remember Mark at the GHAA workshop in the Haverhill Sr. Center with its low ceiling and support columns. Then the group moved to the church rec hall on Bradford common, with a high ceiling and no columns. Good move.
Mark helped enthusiastic students hone skills and set directions. His students returned to show college work, and later, work work, like advertising and packaging done on Madison Avenue.
Mark taught elders, long retired and looking for new meaning. Their skills grew explosively and they took on a teenager’s stride. Passion for all ages.
Sometimes, with his suggestion to me, sometimes through my eavesdropping on his suggestion given to another, I would experience a breakthrough in my work.
His dedication is remarkable. Mark even moved in order to be closer to the church rec hall.
Sometimes a contribution is so great it becomes synonymous with the whole: Saturday Artist Workshop on Bradford Common 9am-12pm, 2nd and 4th Saturdays.
Mark Hayden: best teacher, best friend.
What more can one ask?
Oh yes. May we do this forever?
”
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT MARK?
Meet him in person at one of our
Saturday Workshops!