Mark Van Dam was born in Pasadena, California, in 1973 and raised in the beach communities of Orange County, where he cultivated his love of nature and the sea. To further his knowledge of California’s majestic land- and seascapes, Van Dam earned a degree in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1996. His interest in art was encouraged from a young age, and so it seems natural that he expresses his appreciation for the beauty of nature through painting. He begins his artistic process by taking a cue from the classic plein-air painters and completes sketches on location, which he uses as reference for his larger studio works. By translating the energy of the places and people he paints in these studies, Van Dam is able to truly capture the essence of the scenes he’s chosen and create artworks that transport viewers to California coast.