Mark T. Brophy

Juried Artist Member since 1995

Photography & Sculpture Member

I was born in Columbia, S.C. but I grew up in Gloucester, MA. I currently live with my wife & son in Newburyport, MA, where I have my studio workshop, Visual Whispers, which is open by appointment. I got my first camera in the 6th grade. It was a Brownie Hawkeye box camera. The camera was the first place prize in a state sponsored safety poster contest at our school. The governor himself handed it to me at a ceremony in Boston. As a ten year old kid, I thought that was a big deal. As things turned out, I got to shoot my first roll of film in Montreal, Canada, at the World's Fair, "EXPO 67". That was even a bigger deal. Since that time, I've always kept a camera by my side. Eventually I graduated to a 35mm SLR. My first adjustable camera was a used Minolta. That thing stayed with me from Gloucester to San Diego and from Barre, Vermont to Clearwater, Florida. It was a great learning tool. With it, I taught myself how to make a great photo even better. Since that old Minolta I've upgraded several times, still, the bulk of my work comes from my film cameras. Looking through the lens, I also learned to see the world in more detail. You have to pay more attention to everything if you're looking for that perfect shot. Sometimes, everything is that perfect shot. For me, photography, like most artistic endeavors, is also therapy. Once you get the photo bug, your eyes are always searching for a picture, even when you don't have your camera with you. When you're in photo mode, you have to be in the moment. While you're searching for a shot, you can't be thinking about work, reliving the past or projecting the future. You're in the here and now, surrounded by posabilities. It's a gift of the craft. It helps us escape from all those daily matters of consequence and allows us to focus our attention on something other than ourselves. Photography, for me, was a lengthy learning process with great rewards. I will always be looking for the next shot. My transition to a sculptor seemed relatively seamless in comparison. As a carpenter/ builder and shade tree mechanic, I was already skilled with my hands and familiar with tools. Building homes and fixing cars and things gave me some satisfaction but there was always something lacking. I didn't know it then, but that was the need to create. In the early "70s" I was working on a community project run by the late Cape Ann Sculptor, Al Duca. He's the artist that created the larger than life bronze statue of painter Fitz Hugh Lane, that sits at the Fitz Hugh Lane House on Harbor Loop in Gloucester.  This community project involved restoration of the old Bayview Cemetery and the building of an Educational Resource Center next to the cemetery.  Besides being a phenomenal artist, Al had been a mentor to dozens, if not hundreds, of young people, including myself. Throughout his career as an artist/ inventor, he had sponsored several educational programs geared toward helping and or influencing wayward youth.  He & I became friends and it was Al and his artwork that inspired me to create my own art. It just took twenty years to sink in. My sculpture has grown from the seeds that he planted in my psyche way back when. I began sculpting in "91". I was living in Rockport in a small cottage near Old Garden Beach. While living there, I had gotten laid off by the construction co. that I was working for. The company was owned by a childhood friend but the local trades took a hit in the early 90's and everything slowed down. This gave me time to wander around town and enjoy the local scene. Of course, the local scene was full of examples of people's art. Everywhere I went there were artists and artwork. People painting on easels, galleries, shops, outdoor sculpture, how could I not be influenced? Being in that environment prompted my own creative urge to return and this time I acted on it. Prior to my layoff, my boss had given me a 6 foot long 2"x14" plank and said "maybe you can make something outta this". So I did, I used it and 4 cement blocks to make a coffee table. It was that plank that became my first carving blank. I bought a set of small hand chisels and started whittling my coffee table. I began by carving Egyption Hyroglifics, just to get the hang of using the tools. Earlier, I had cut off a two foot plece of the plank and that piece became my first completed sculpture. Out of that scrap, I carved a couple hugging and their raised arms turned into tree branches. The background was a mirror.

One day, someone visiting my cottage saw the piece and liked it. They told me that the local art association was holding an amateur art contest and that I should enter my carving. My thought was, this is my first piece, you can't be any more amateur than that, so I entered it. Much to my surprise and delight, I took first place in the 1992 Rockport Art Association's Amateur Art Contest. That did it, I was off and running. Sometime later I remembered that I had some pieces of marble laying around from a demolition job that we had done and I thought, why not try marble? I put a masonry blade in my circular saw and I started fooling around with the marble. I soon discovered that marble could be carved just like wood, with the proper tools of course. I had the bug, there was no going back. Since then, I've worked in several different mediums. I just finished a piece in granite. I've done figurative sculptures in clay and plaster but I prefer to do abstract in stone. I've had some pieces done in bronze and occasionally I'll still use a hunk of hardwood. I've also done some cold cast bronze, cement and two part plastic. I'll try anything but I prefer to carve different kinds of stone. Marble, alabaster, granite, serpentine, obsidian, I love the rocks. I have gotten some recognition for my work over the years. Besides my first place in sculpture at Rockport, 92. I also got 2nd place in the same competition the following year, 93. In 95, I was juried into the RAA&M and in 97 I won the Peter Abate Award for Excellence in Sculpture and the Richard Recchia Memorial award. Also, in 1997, the RAA&M sponsored the Sculptors of Cape Ann Exhibition, which I helped set up and I got to put work in.  I've also received 7 sculpture awards at the Newburyport Art Association. I got 5 First Place for Sculpture awards, 1, Best in Show, and one award for Best in 3D, Excellence in Concept. I was the Vice President and former Art Director of the Newburyport Art Assoc, 25 years ago. I was juried in at the North Shore Art Association where I served on the sculpture jury in 96 & 97. I also got juried into the New England Sculptors Association and some of my work was on display at the State of the Art Gallery and Gardens on Rocky Neck. I was also invited by the Marblehead Art Assoc. to serve on their sculpture jury for a couple years. I consulted with the lost crewmans families on the Heather Lynn 2 Memorial in Newburyport during the early stages of planning. The design of the existing sculpture was mine.  As of now, I only belong to the Rockport A.A. and the Newburyport A.A.. I've also received awards in photography and poetry. In photography, I took first place in the Cape Ann Summer Sun Photo Contest, 92 and I had one of my photos published in Greater Newburyport, A Photographic Portrait, 2000. The cover photo for Rockport's Pack #55 Cub Scouts Cookbook 92 was mine. Some of my poetry was published in Poetry for Rockport, 92, 94, & 95, the Boston Globe, 84 and the American Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, 89. Also, mention with honor from Judge XJ Kennedy at the PowWow River Poets annual contest in Newburyport, 96. Currently, 2023, I'm on the Exhibition Jury of Selection at the RAA&M for Painting, Graphics, and Sculpture. I am a firm believer in the old adage, you'll never know ‘til you try. So many times while gallery sitting or attending an opening I hear people say, I could never do that. That's what I thought. I can still recall moments throughout my life when I felt an urge to do something creative but I never tried because I didn't think I could. Look what happened when I finally acted on that urge. Some days I still surprise myself. Every now and then, I'll look up at a finished piece and think, who made that? Sometimes, it seems like the less I have to do with the work on a conscious level, the better it comes out. If you are one of those people who are having doubts about your own ability, please consider this, it can't hurt to try. You may surprise yourself! I did!

All images ©Mark T. Brophy 2023