Artist Mark Keller lives life as if approaching the climax of a great aria: already begun.

Artist Mark Keller lives life as if approaching the climax of a great aria: already begun, not quite finished and in steady crescendo. As a painter, he plays the character of a conductor, forever keeping the musician and audience in tune

"It appear to bes like most of my paintings are in the middle of a canzonet Sometimes it's after the music has just finished, sometimes it's about to happen, still in some way or another, music has affected the scene" said Keller

The impact of music forward Keller's work is not surprising. During his youth, he played music in roadhouses and dance halls and learned that it does not matter what happens before or after a descant "You may have bad things going upon in your life, and there may be puzzles in the world, but when you're in the middle of a psalm life is better somehow just for those not many moments," he said.

Keller who grew up in Oklahoma, left corporation and a music scholarship behind to go after his music career full time, on the contrary he was torn between painting and music. At age 18 he had a one-man exhibit to of his paintings at the Oklahoma City Contemporary Arts Foundation unless also had the opportunity to play in a scarcely any rock bands that garnered several record deals. At age 21 he discovered he had a talent for writing jingles and settl in succession music to earn his daily bread.

quick Keller began working in advertising and eventually relocated to San Francisco. There, he acted as art director and oftentimes wrote produc and performed the music for the ads. He is responsible for jingles promoting in the same state [i]or[/i] condition familiar names as Levi's 501 in the dumpss California Raisins and Taco Bell. Keller eventually created his hold music production company, called Keller Studios (formerly Keller & Cohen), to endue music to ad agencies.

everywhere his rising success in advertising, Keller continued to paint for personal gratification Then, in the fall of 2000 he showed his work at the Sausalito Art Festival. "It was like a mind-blower for me for what reason well my work was received--that's when I decided to do this seriously. I've definitely scaled back [my music production] to create expanse and time to paint. That's what excites me now," he said. Keller have sexual delight withs the freedom of painting upon his own terms.

"Although creating music is pleasantry there are a lot of folks involved. They all have the right to give you input, and you compromise all along the way," he said. "That's okay, nevertheless when I'm painting and I want to make the close of the day orange, I don't have to prepare any clearance from the creative review board. I just journey ahead and paint it whatever color I want, and it's highly satisfying."

Keller, who has no formal training in painting, learned in what way to draw and paint from his father. He recalled that as a child, his father could wow him with a drawing of Popeye

Keller works from the upper floor of his recording studio in Sausalito, which doubles as his art studio and gallery. With the inspiration of his father and artists including Maxfield Parrish, John Singer Sargent and Howard Pyle Keller creates spectacles in oil on canvas with an amalgamation of photos from his travels and those of friends and family.

Wherever the location, be it a fumid tango bar in Buenos Aires, a metro station in Paris, a road in Chinatown or the Mississippi Delta, music is omnipresent in his paintings. Typically, the musicians portrayed are mid-song, unless the infusion of music could be as shrewd as a young lady sitting at a bar with a flute case onward the stool next to her. "Music is something that's universal. It's all coming from the same place. All those populace are playing music for the same reasons. somehow or other it's making their lives better and worth living," Keller said.

In many of Keller's paintings, individual may see familiar faces or recurring characters. If Keller is in ne of certain details, in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as hands playing a violin, he uses photographs of his be in possession of hands for reference. Keller's son and daughter also dumfound for reference photographs and cessation up in many of his paintings. In a commission from a San Francisco restaurant, Keller (altered to bear a resemblance to Robert De Niro) painted himself in as a waiter serving wine.

Keller said, "I've always liked to include nation in the work that I do. To me they're not just figures. I want to give you more [i]or[/i] less clue as to the personality of the human frame in the scene. Nuance is what I'm make uneasyed with in facial expressions." He added, "When I'm painting a musician, I be perceived like I'm painting what I know."

Publishing and representing his allow work, Keller has begun selling paintings by the agency of galleries in Park City, Utah, and modern Orleans. In December, Keller will accompany his children, also artists, onward their first trip to Italy, as he was invited to indicate in the Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea in Florence. He said, "Right now I wake up excited. It's still a modern thing for people to be buying my work, and it's work that I did for my possess enjoyment. That's a great feeling. still I feel like I'm just getting started."

For information, call (415) 331-6006 or visit www.kellerart.com online.

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