About Marc

Now for the first time he shares his thoughts and feelings about his work and what motivates him. Marc Poisson sells artworks from Britain, Ireland, Canada, USA to Australia and South Africa. Enjoying the mature period of his profession, he is quite at ease in his bold, distinctive style of painting. He consistently captures atmospheric light in scenes of typically Australian and South African subjects which hark back to a more peaceful, leisurely era. This view seems to be substantiated by his aversion to many of the things we associate with modern life. For example, one seldom sees a motor vehicle in his street scenes and sometimes even bitumen roads give way to the old gravel farm roads.

Many of his subjects underscore the historical significance of resonate scenes. Scenes such as the Sydney harbour Bridge or world famous Sydney Beaches. Consistent subjects are the horse riders of the Snowy Mountains and Fraser Island along with a variety of striking rural scenes. In South Africa he is well known for his Cape Dutch Homestead paintings and Cape Harbour scenes. Figure studies also dominate. Examining these various subjects, one perceives the way this artist uses light to underscore the importance of scenes as if to etch them into our national psyche, as though they need to be cherished and preserved for future generations.

“For me fine art, like music, should not only stimulate the mind but also the emotions. Capturing that special, almost indefinable quality of light can elevate a work of art to a level which commands attention and reverberates with the senses by virtue of its sheer beauty. Thus, by convincingly evoking the atmosphere created by the play of light on a subject painted, I seek to involve the viewer emotionally with it. It is this, I believe, which surpasses the devices and techniques used in the creation of my art.”

His scenes with horses seem full of life emphasising the nature of an appealing rural countryside. Marc has been inspired by a number of his peers over the years. However, the greatest influence came from three artists who in the 1970’s were considered the best known realists in South Africa. These artists were Dino Paravano (in America), Titto Fasciotti and Errol Boyley. He feels that much can be learned from the strength of Fasciotti’s colours, the warm tones of orange and yellows also reflected in his greys; Paravano’s mastery over light and shade, his skilled use of contrasts which can be observed at dusk and dawn as light illuminates common scenes giving them a sense of space and movement; and Boyley’s mastery over superlatively rendered sky-dominated landscapes. Having progressively developed his style and technique over the decades, Poisson’s work is distinctly and immediately recognisable.

Old Masters such as Diego Velasques (Spain), Joachin Sorolla (Spain), Frans Hals (Netherlands), Vemeer (Belgium), Hans Heysen (Austria), Arthur Streeton (Australia) and Tom Roberts (Australia), are greatly admired and continuously studied by Marc. Galleries where he has studied the works of the Old Masters include the National Gallery in London, Van Riyn and Van Gogh Galleries in Amsterdam, The Louvre in Paris as well as the Prado Art Gallery in Madrid where the Spanish artists Deigo Velasquez and Sorrollo greatly impressed him.