MARK'S STORY

The Early Years

Mark was born and raised in New Jersey, about 20 miles outside of New York City. As a kid, Mark took art classes and lessons which helped develop his art skills. After graduating from high school, Mark decided to attend Rutgers University where he earned a degree in history and political science. It was while Mark was attending Rutgers that he received his first art commissions.

Beyond Rutgers, Mark chose to pursue a teaching degree from Columbia University in Manhattan where he earned his M.A.. During his time student teaching and going to classes in one of the largest cities in the world, Mark was able to learn the value of hard work and perseverance, skills he applies to his art career today. Post graduate school, Mark decided to hold off on teaching to pursue his true passion, a full time career in art.

Although an art career can be challenging at times, Mark hasn't looked back once.

Mark Kannell, the Artist

Mark's persistence and talent has captured the attention of celebrities and professional athletes alike. With only paint and a paintbrush, Mark has been able to meet some of the world's greatest sports and entertainment icons. His art depicts popular athletes from various sports teams and celebrities from popular television shows, movies, and music. Many of his original paintings have been autographed by the athletes or celebrities themselves, including works depicting Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Carrie Underwood, Patrick Mahomes, and Eli Manning.

In addition to creating art on traditional materials such as paper or canvas, Mark also paints on items related to the athlete or celebrity including jerseys and helmets.

Some of Mark's accomplishments include live painting at major sporting events around the country. In 2015, Mark painted live in downtown Fort Worth Texas during the College Football National Championship game between Oregon and Ohio State. He also painted live at various events around Phoenix during Super Bowl XLIX weekend. His work was also featured in a story that aired nationally on Entertainment Tonight in 2015. His work has also been shared on many major social media pages such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, Complex, House of Highlights, CBS Sports, and the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Dolphins official Instagram pages.

Most recently, Mark has been hired by EA Sports to create original paintings of football players for Madden NFL's social media pages. He also worked with the New England Patriots social media team to create an original hand painted football of one of their players for a video and social media post.

While it has been an exciting career so far, he is always looking forward to the new exciting opportunities that come his way.