Ablaze with Blue (N50.8346 W1.6360), 2023

Mark Munroe-Preston  

Mark was born in Yorkshire and studied photography at Wolverhampton Polytechnic before moving to London in 1991. He initially worked as a photographer before focusing more on illustration and computer design. Since then he has worked in many sections of the design and publishing industry. Mark lives and works in Sussex with his family and two Scottish Terriers (Fergus and Rufus). He is still inspired by the incredible landscapes around him and discovering amazing new places to photograph in Sussex, and beyond.

Mark says “I have always enjoyed landscape photography and when I moved to Sussex in 2001 I began to explore the local countryside, and particularly the Ashdown Forest and the South Downs, with my dogs and my camera. It is from this ever-expanding collection of images that I draw the inspiration for my artworks.

“These photographs are digitally merged with other photographs, paintings, drawings, textures, and found objects to create the final pieces. Some of the pictures are more literal interpretations of the places I have photographed, while others are more conceptual or graphic in their approach, but all seek to evoke the beauty, drama, and atmosphere of the landscapes around me.”

Trees
One question I am often asked is “why trees?”. For me landscapes without trees feel like they are missing something, trees are such an integral part of our perception of the world about us. I feel drawn to these incredible organisms, which can be diminutive, delicate, monumental or sculptural and being in the forest at dawn their serene beauty is so atmospheric. They provide so much for us, food, shade, air, materials and have played a huge part in human evolution and history. Recent scientific discoveries about how they communicate and help one another or their symbiotic relationship with Mycorrhizal fungi reveal another level of complexity and harmony in their ecosystems. Living such long lives it seems as though they become extensions of the land itself and that is why they have become the focus of my art.

GPS coordinates & Map
The names of the artworks often refer to the GPS coordinates where the original photograph was taken.