Sweet and Sour Art

Mark (@chinamark on instagram) and Doug (@dougogburn_art on instagram) are friends who create artwork on paper, canvas, cardboard, wood panels, and other objects such as cups, spray cans, and jars. Our subject matters vary to include portraiture, figurative works, animals, landscapes, and several other subjects. Mark Montgomery is a full-time artist, muralist, and teacher who creates with various media and teaches art to students. He graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in sequential art and a minor in painting. He was then hired by a school in Shanghai, China, where he taught and worked as a resident artist for 11 years, and has painted murals in the US, Ireland, Hong Kong, China, and the Bahamas. His work is expressive, colorful, and bold, using distinct marks to form images that tell the stories he sees around him. He takes a great interest in portraiture and comic zines and has been hired by well-known corporations domestically and internationally to create murals and zines that convey each company's goals and story. Born with limited vision in his right eye and limited hearing in his right ear, these so-called disabilities have given Mark a unique way of seeing the world. He states, "When we wake up in the morning and open our eyes, we see a display of abstract colors and forms quickly filtered by the brain to form a clear, familiar reality. All of my art starts with a similar abstraction —eventually taking the form of what I see, think, and feel."

Doug Ogburn is a developing artist who creates with oil, acrylic paint, and charcoal. He also lived in southwest China for 3 years during his early 20s and began drawing a few portraits during these early years abroad. The hobby continued slowly and then turned into an obsession with painting he couldn't seem to let go of. Starting with acrylics, he eventually fell in love with oils and continues developing his skills and range. He likes to paint with bold, vivid colors and has focused primarily on animals, landscapes, flowers, and portraits. Working a medical job that stresses him out, he loves the escape painting provides him from the worries of the world. He strives to create works that offer a sense of peace and an extra bit of beauty. Simple-minded and not as cool as Mark, Doug skates by with his ruggedly handsome looks, constant use of the third-person, and both self-deprecating and self-aggrandizing humor. He took charge of the bio, and couldn't resist a joke at the end because he doesn't think anyone will read this far anyway.