About the Artist - The Early Years
Mark Morrison was born in Inverness, the main town of the Scottish Highlands, in 1969.
As a youngster, he was always doodling and drawing with anything, on anything, Then, during his pre-teens, growing up on the Western Isles, he saw the very first piece of airbrushed custom art work he'd ever seen in real life, done on a classic VW Beetle. Bright Orange in colour, with oil rigs all lit up in a summer night sky. It gave Mark the WOW factor that kept the desire burning for years, to learn to custom paint as well as that one day.
Whilst growing up, Mark's heroes were some of the most well-known racers of the time, one in particular being Mr. Barry Sheene. As a teenager, Mark's bedroom walls were plastered with numerous posters of fast bikes and famous racers, and he bought his first motorcycle, an old Honda CD185. Not exactly an off-road bike, but it gave Mark many hours of enjoyment, learning valuable skills while out and about on a road bike in the highland forests during the early 1980's. This motorcycle was Marks first ever custom paint job: bright orange with the HRC logo on the Tank. Having never even seen an airbrush by then, this 'custom' job was done with regular paint and paint brushes.
As a youngster, he was always doodling and drawing with anything, on anything, Then, during his pre-teens, growing up on the Western Isles, he saw the very first piece of airbrushed custom art work he'd ever seen in real life, done on a classic VW Beetle. Bright Orange in colour, with oil rigs all lit up in a summer night sky. It gave Mark the WOW factor that kept the desire burning for years, to learn to custom paint as well as that one day.
Whilst growing up, Mark's heroes were some of the most well-known racers of the time, one in particular being Mr. Barry Sheene. As a teenager, Mark's bedroom walls were plastered with numerous posters of fast bikes and famous racers, and he bought his first motorcycle, an old Honda CD185. Not exactly an off-road bike, but it gave Mark many hours of enjoyment, learning valuable skills while out and about on a road bike in the highland forests during the early 1980's. This motorcycle was Marks first ever custom paint job: bright orange with the HRC logo on the Tank. Having never even seen an airbrush by then, this 'custom' job was done with regular paint and paint brushes.
Learning the Skills
In 1999, Mark was surprised by his then girfriend, now wife and assistant, with the gift of attending a beginner's airbrushing course. Given completely in Dutch, which Mark couldn't really speak well at the time, it didn't bother him in the slightest. In fact, it was all he needed in order to step up from using only paint brushes when trying to do any custom work again.
His first airbrushing project, done with his newly gained skills, was his old FZR600. The theme was a Scottish-metal bike, so it had a waving Scottish flag draped across the tank and sides, held in place by a rivet-look metal band and metal plates along the side farings and seat. From that time, BraveArt Graphics was born.
Two years later, Mark was working as a panel beater and painting apprentice at a car body workshop, when he unfortunately broke the bones in his right hand. He ended up having severe nerve damage and after many long months of treatment and assessment, was diagnosed with Sudek's Atrophy (RSDS), as it had spread out to affect both hands and wrists by then.
This was earth-shattering for Mark, as apart from being told he'd never be able to the job he really enjoyed again, it also meant that his art progression abruptly ground to a halt. He had no choice but to learn to deal with the excruciating pain on a daily basis, along with the frustration of not being able to use his hands to paint and customize anymore. It was at that time he sadly packed away all of his airbrushing equipment, focusing instead on his health and recovery. Then, in 2003, he began learning the inner martial art of Qigong, a breathing and meditation technique, which allowed him to deal with the pain and the frustration much better, and he continues to practice it to this day.
His first airbrushing project, done with his newly gained skills, was his old FZR600. The theme was a Scottish-metal bike, so it had a waving Scottish flag draped across the tank and sides, held in place by a rivet-look metal band and metal plates along the side farings and seat. From that time, BraveArt Graphics was born.
Two years later, Mark was working as a panel beater and painting apprentice at a car body workshop, when he unfortunately broke the bones in his right hand. He ended up having severe nerve damage and after many long months of treatment and assessment, was diagnosed with Sudek's Atrophy (RSDS), as it had spread out to affect both hands and wrists by then.
This was earth-shattering for Mark, as apart from being told he'd never be able to the job he really enjoyed again, it also meant that his art progression abruptly ground to a halt. He had no choice but to learn to deal with the excruciating pain on a daily basis, along with the frustration of not being able to use his hands to paint and customize anymore. It was at that time he sadly packed away all of his airbrushing equipment, focusing instead on his health and recovery. Then, in 2003, he began learning the inner martial art of Qigong, a breathing and meditation technique, which allowed him to deal with the pain and the frustration much better, and he continues to practice it to this day.
The Comeback
It took until the end of 2010 before Mark felt well enough to pick up his airbrush again. Having always kept up with the advances of paint and techniques in the airbrushing world, and attempting a few pieces over the years, he finally felt he was able to expand upon his artistic skills more solidly.
A new house, a new start and a fantastic new studio, built with the help of a good friend early in 2011, in exchange for Mark building a website for his friend's handyman business, meant that hings were finally looking up! Mark began customizing various kinds of helmets and other pieces, with the ultimate dream of seeing his designs being worn on the track by the current and up-and-coming riders in the MotoGP-racing series.
After attending an airbrush realism portrait course in May 2012, given by two of the best airbrush teachers in the world, Mr. Dru Blair and Mr. Eddy Wouters, Mark started a new portrait, of Gresini Moto2 rider, Gino Rea, who on meeting Mark at the Dutch TT in Assen, was very impressed by what Mark had created. Both Gino and everyone else who saw the painting there, were amazed at the level of realism and quality it showed, and it was this reaction that sparked off this new challenge of Mark's, to create more amazing photo-realistic paintings of the stars of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3, of course, with a custom twist.
A new house, a new start and a fantastic new studio, built with the help of a good friend early in 2011, in exchange for Mark building a website for his friend's handyman business, meant that hings were finally looking up! Mark began customizing various kinds of helmets and other pieces, with the ultimate dream of seeing his designs being worn on the track by the current and up-and-coming riders in the MotoGP-racing series.
After attending an airbrush realism portrait course in May 2012, given by two of the best airbrush teachers in the world, Mr. Dru Blair and Mr. Eddy Wouters, Mark started a new portrait, of Gresini Moto2 rider, Gino Rea, who on meeting Mark at the Dutch TT in Assen, was very impressed by what Mark had created. Both Gino and everyone else who saw the painting there, were amazed at the level of realism and quality it showed, and it was this reaction that sparked off this new challenge of Mark's, to create more amazing photo-realistic paintings of the stars of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3, of course, with a custom twist.
Other portraits and helmets
Check out even more of Mark's airbrush art at www.braveartgraphics.com