CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 31 arts Mark and denise Lynch collect memories P lease don't make me out to be an afi- cionado," Mark Lynch quipped, when asked about his favorite style of art. e owner of Quality Sound and Video on Bragg Boulevard and his wife, Denise, a Certified Financial Planner with Morgan Stanley, have been collecting eye-catching pieces for the past thirty years to display in their home. Mark journeyed to Fort Bragg in the 1970s as an Army Aviator. Here is where he met his hometown girl. ey are working parents to only child, Vincent. Not only are their lives filled with business, but also charity as Mark was a past District Governor of Rotary Club 7730 and currently serves on the boards for Community Concerts and the Crown Complex. Denise co-chairs the American Heart Associa- tion's Go Red for Women campaign in Cumberland County and also serves as co-chair of the Women's Giving Circle. It can be argued that philanthropists usually have impressive art collections. But, Mark is quick to share, "For me, art col- lection isn't a wealth building exercise. It's an opportunity to have quality work enhance your life while you're at home." Mark and Denise choose pieces that remind them of sig- nificant times in their lives or pieces that commemorate trips they have taken. From the Lantana Cottages of Ber- muda to Spain and South America, the goal to which they aspire: "the timeline of our life and travels," can be found on the walls of their home. Their Life In Art One of Mark's favorite pieces, a nighttime island scene by Steven Power, was purchased on a family trip to Hawaii, By COurTnEy PhILLIPs yet is of a Tahitian shoreline. e painting style is hand- embellished oil, which is a modern way to capture vibrant landscapes by mechanically transferring a photograph or painting to canvas, then adding, or "embellishing," origi- nal detail by hand. An increasingly popular niche in the art world, embellished paintings oen offers a collector the op- portunity to own an original at a more affordable price. One of Denise's favorite artists is Romero Britto, a Bra- zillian pop artist, painter and sculptor. Mark and Denise's Britto collection includes everything from what Mark jok- ingly described as, "a well-framed poster" to a sculpture and a print signed by the artist himself. "ere are many differ- ent ways to enjoy the work of an artist," Mark said. Other notables in their eclectic home collection include an original drawing of Mickey and Minnie Mouse by Da- vid Willardson, best known for his work in creating Dis- ney's animated movie posters from the 1980s into the early 2000s. Now part of the "pep art movement," Willardson renders these cultural icons with vibrant color and elevated personality. e Lynch's original art collection is rounded out by a three-dimensional acrylic and an oil painting by popular Canadian artist Eric Waugh, and work by Fayetteville's own Greg Hathaway, owner of Greg's Art, Pottery & Gis on Maxwell Street. Where to Start Mark's humble approach to collecting art simplifies what may seem a very daunting, cerebral and expensive hobby. Instead, he suggests finding pieces that have personal mean- ing. "Don't worry about whether a famous person painted Art HomE IS wHErE tHE IS

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