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Families upon Thames
May 2009
Mark Gower creates evocative and moving contemporary portraits
Author: Frances Loates
Life could have been very different for Hersham Dad Mark Gower who at 15 years of age, playing in goal for his club in the FA Youth Cup competition, saved a crucial penalty, was promptly spotted by talent scouts from Newcastle United Football Club and signed up as a schoolboy player. Living many a teenage boy’s dream, Mark found himself willingly trekking all the way up to the North East to train at the club during every school holiday. He seemed to thrive under the pressure, had glowing write-ups in the local press and fans asked for his autograph at the training ground. Yet to Mark’s utter dismay, he was released abruptly and forced to return to normal life when the club worked out that he was never going to reach the statuesque height and build required for today’s top professional goalkeepers.
‘That was the best thing that ever happened’, Mark now believes as he reflects on the values of modern-day professional football, the lessons he learnt and the way his life changed as a result of this early rejection. After an initial period of deep disappointment, he was able to apply himself to this talent for art, gaining a BA at Kingston University, an MA in Architecture and Interiors from the Royal College of Art and moving on to a career as a designer. Mark worked on diverse and exciting projects such as a permanent environmental exhibition at Eureka! The Museum for Children, redesigning a major West End store and creating the stage set for a Liberty X European tour.
His career seemed unstoppable when five years ago Mark suffered another blow when he was injured in a major motorcycle accident, which, in the way of many a crisis, made him and his wife Eve, re-evaluate their lives once more and decide on a change of direction. By this time there was a seven-month old daughter, Daisy to consider and born-and-bred Londoner Mark decided to move closer to his brother, then based in Walton. Mark’s mother followed shortly and the extended family felt settled in this safe patch of Surrey where there is plenty of space and a real sense of community.
Baby Molly was born in the new Hersham home and all seemed well until late last year when Mark found himself working such long hours, he was finding most of his conversations with his daughters had to happen on the ‘phone from work. By now totally unafraid of change, however drastic, Mark decided to put an end to full-time commitments outside the home, to address his work-life balance and so he handed in his notice on his well paid job. By dividing his working time between lecturing in Interior Design at Kingston University and building up his portrait business, Mark is now able to spend more time with Daisy (now 5 years) and Molly (now 2).
Unsurprisingly Mark’s very first portrait was of his own family. ‘I wanted to capture the essence of what our home is all about, chaotic, lively, fun but above all, precious’. His technique was born from his background and combination of talents and involve a series of outline drawings layered over each other to create the impression of figures on the move. A strong narrative shines through which feels very genuine, personal and incredibly powerful. ‘I bring my experience of family life into every portrait’, Mark told us and that is very evident in the emotions they evoke.
‘Going public’ with this work started off with Mark offering to create portraits as wedding presents based on his own photographs taken during the event. This inevitably led to portraits of birthdays, anniversaries and then of the children.
He starts off with at least three outline drawings, usually derived from photographs taken in succession. These are then layered over each other digitally to give the vivid impression of figures on the move. This way the images tell a story, encapsulate special moments in time and the energy of family life. The portrait becomes a personal study in a style which Mark says ‘is determined by the subjects I draw’. Mark takes great trouble to make sure he’s in constant communication with his clients so that they are aware of progress and receive proofs to tweak before the full-sized canvas is prepared. Nevertheless the handover moment is always a scary one for Mark.
As for the football, after years of continuing to play, eventually moving onto on-field positions and organising various teams, Mark is very happy to be present just as a spectator. Nowadays Mark is joined by Daisy and together they regularly travel back to their roots and take their places as season ticket holders in the family stand at West Ham.
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All images © Mark Gower
