High Sierra Topix

Well, clearly I'm coming late to the funeral, here, but I have to add my sorrow. I stayed with Mark in his apartment in Mammoth for a few days many years ago, on the agreement that I buy a leg of lamb and bottle of Shiraz and Mark cook it. Boy, was that ever a good deal! That man could COOK!

The postmark on the tube says March 18th 2021. Mark wanted to frame these for me but it was winter and the thrift stores in the eastside where he would go looking for frames were dry of anything good. He told me how he would cut and repurpose the matte's and make double mattes to fit the art with these beautiful frames he would find. We talked about getting together and painting, we talked about spring. I finally got these framed. I used uv glare resist archival glass on both, the repurposed barnwood frames seem to keep shedding little pieces of wood and flakes. What a talented guy, i could shoot the **** for hours with him. I'll especially miss seeing him in the meadows early season stealth camping and full of excitement to be up there. Liane and I have some great memories from all of us camping one season. Such special memories. Just wanted to share these with everyone. Cheers to Mark!

I feel like an interloper here, but like many, I regarded Mark as the eminence grise of HST. OK, legendary eminence grise. And I did have an evanescent interaction years ago near the (Lyell canyon) creek crossing at the bottom of Donahue pass. A gent who sure looked like Mark was fiddling with some fishing gear as my wife and I passed by. Not wanting to disrupt his concentration, I blurted out something along the lines of: if you're the guy who posts those amazing paintings/anecdotes on HST, I love your contributions. He just smiled and nodded, so who knows? Cameron

I'm late to the party, but so honored to have met and known Mark - even if it was out of his true element. I lived in the condo beneath him for a few years and at first grudged that he could go through 3 times less firewood than me in a winter - thanks to extra sunlight and my heat from below. I only learned how badass he was just as I was moved away from California for a few years. I'd hoped to reconnect with him now that I returned, but all of your memories and stories of his will carry his legacy on.

This is from 2017 - the one true Big Winter we shared together. Shine on Mark.