Mark Coombe

Mark Coombe was born in Central Queensland and grew up on a large cattle station, with horses and cattle being a part of his everyday life. Mark went to tertiary college and was educated in business but returned to the land to work with horses and cattle.

In the late eighties Mark took a camera with him mustering one day and this began a series of events that has made him into one of Australia’s leading rural artists. As Mark says, “I didn’t know taking my father’s camera mustering that day would have such a massive effect on my life, there was no plan to do this, it just happened.”

Mark has been photographing life on the cattle stations since 1984 and has been oil painting since 2012. His oil paintings bring together in vivid detail the beauty of the Australian landscape with the reality of day-to-day life on cattle stations.

When asked about where he finds inspiration: “I feel as though I have never needed inspiration, I just love the subject matter I paint. The interaction between horses, cattle and people, and our wonderful landscapes never leaves me wondering what I am going to paint next.”

Mark has hosted solo exhibitions in Australia and overseas, he has exhibited at every Australian Beef Expo in Rockhampton and recently had a solo exhibition at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. His paintings have gone to collectors throughout Australia and overseas.

When asked what makes a successful artist: “Yes, you have to be able to know how to mix paint and get it onto the canvas, but it’s knowing your subject matter, being passionate about it, and painting subject matter that will connect with people, that is the most important thing”.