Mark Lague has been an artist at SmithKlein Gallery for over 15 years. During that time his paintings have become more exquisite in the balance between Impressionism and realism dancing a fine line between what can be visually understood and or contemplated. 

Known for his cityscapes, Mark Lague has developed an international reputation and has won numerous awards. Since 2002 Mark has worked as a full time painter, and expresses himself in award wining depictions of cities all around the world. 

It is important for us as a gallery to understand and represent Mark to our fullest capability. In doing so we asked what musical inspirations if any inspired Mark to create such incredible works of art.

Welcome to the Inspirational Modalities of Mark Lague.

1. What Music do you listen to when you paint?
I listen to a wide variety of music when I paint, from alternative rock, to jazz, to classical (often ‘contemporary classical’). 

2. Does it change depending on the mood you’re in or the type of landscape you want to paint? 

Not so much on the type of painting I’m doing, but it might change from classical piano music to something more upbeat, if I feel I’m getting too tight with the painting. 

3. How does Music impact how you paint? 
I think if I’m listening to something minimalist, like Phillip Glass, I tend to want to eliminate detail and lose edges, which always makes the work stronger. 

4. If given a client the question if they could tell what music you listened to, do you think they would guess right? 
I think they would probably guess jazz, and they would be right most of the time. 

5. Can you tell what the music influences are in other artists work? 
I could make a pretty good guess that the artists I admire, who influence me the most, like Tibor Nagy and Jeremy Mann, probably listen to a lot of obscure and avant garde music when they paint. 

6. Do you feel Music is important to your artistry? 
It absolutely is, but it’s equally important to my daily, morning run. Although, running is when I get some of my most creative ideas, so I guess you could say that music is interconnected throughout the entire creative process. 

7. Do you know the main musical inspirations primarily for the painting “Columbus Tower, San Francisco” 60 x 60? 
It’s really hard to pinpoint specific inspirations when doing something this large and time consuming. Suffice it to say, I’m sure I went through the whole gamut during the time I was painting this, as well as having sports on the TV when I paint at night.