From our first encounter with Mark Rogers’s art, we have been enamored with his narrative-
driven works and cast of otherworldly characters that inhabit The Southwestern Bellows. To experience Mark’s work is to be pulled into a weird melting pot of magic, discovery, and nightmare-harvesting aliens. We selected Paranormal Investigators, The Astral Body, and Becoming an Owl as ambassadors from Mark’s imaginative collection and were thrilled to showcase his work as our very first issue's cover art. Mark shared some insights in our short interview that we found fun and illuminating. Read on to take it all in.
What were you doing before you arrived on Earth?
I played guitar and sang in a punk band, was on the tennis team, and wrote fiction, hoping to get published in literary magazines.
There's "good weird" and "not-so-good weird." What’s “good weird" to you?
Good weird is creative, unusual, inspiring, different, and fun. Like: ”Look at that weird woman in the ballerina costume carving life-size elves while a parrot sits on her shoulder. Wow, one of the wooden elf sculptures is holding a cuckoo clock!” That’s good weird.
Bad weird is potentially dangerous, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Like: “Look at weird woman with those machetes, shaking outside Voodoo Doughnut and screaming. Her eyes are scary!” That’s bad-weird. But if the second woman was in a story and the reader was cozy and safe from danger, the screaming machete woman might be good-weird. Especially if in the story she was witnessed shape-shifting into a giant rat, and entering Voodoo Doughnut.
What's your favorite fantasy novel?
I think I have to answer this question in terms of fantasy series rather than individual novels. Dang, I have a hard time choosing just one, but my favorite series is probably “The Wheel of Time” by Robert Jordan. I could talk about fantasy novels forever. I love horror too.
What's the most recent record/album you bought or listened to?
Sor: Fantaisie, Op. 10 and 12/Themes Et Menuets, Op. 11 performed by John Holmquist. I am an amateur classical guitarist and listen to a ton of classical guitar music. Also, Necrot: “Lifeless Birth.” I like metal too.
Around what age did you start developing/mentally visiting The Southwestern Bellows, your magical imaginary land that you depict in your art?
I started painting when I was thirty and began painting in my current style and world, although much less solidified, around thirty-two. But the Southwestern Bellows really bloomed in my mind and sketchbooks around 2017, when I was thirty-eight, around the time when I quit drinking, found the old gods, and began practicing magick and witchcraft.
I have always had an active imagination and have always had imaginary worlds in my head. When I was a little kid, I used to close myself in my bedroom and sort of pace in circles while in my mind I would be playing out scenes in a make-believe realm. I was part of many epic battles, met legendary creatures, and discovered the joys of introversion at an early age. When my parents asked what I was doing, I told them I was “playing privately.” They took me to see a doctor.
I go to my imaginary world before sleeping, but also during meditation, while on walks, while painting, and right now, haha.
What's your favorite cactus?
I like the tall Saguaro. Growing up in Oregon, cacti feel like the plant life of an alien planet.
Where is your favorite place to recharge?
Either my studio, hiking somewhere, or sketchbook-ing at a coffee shop.
Tell me about a time you saw Bigfoot.
I have seen ghosts and a UFO once, but I have never seen Bigfoot, only painted them. That would be scary AF!
What about your art do you most wish people to understand?
I don’t know if I need people to understand my art at all really. Sometimes someone else’s interpretation of one of my paintings is just as valid. I suppose I would like people to know that my paintings are all narrative-based. I write a little story—always set in the Southwestern Bellows—then tell the story in a series of nine paintings, and I repeat this process for each series. While at the core, my art is about making contact with the supernatural, I would like people to know that I am not an expert on aliens or UFOs. I am unable to channel extraterrestrials, nor am I an abductee. They live in my imaginary world. And of course, they exist in this world too.
Mark Rogers is a self-taught artist from Portland, Oregon. Stylistically, his work has been described as a mash-up of folk art, medieval painting, and fairy tale illustration. Obsessed with fantasy and tales of the supernatural, Rogers creates narrative-driven paintings populated by fictional characters that inhabit his spooky and sometimes humorous oil paintings. His work has been shown in exhibitions across the United States and has been sold worldwide. He lives and works in an old Victorian house in Fort Wayne, Indiana with his girlfriend and fellow painter-in-crime, Erica Peebus. You can view his art here: www.markrogersart.com
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