New artist at Shafter Library

There is a new artist with works on display at the Shafter Library and Learning Center.

Mark Engelien has had a passion for art for decades, beginning with watercolors and sketches. An architect by trade, Engelien has used his artistic side even when at work designing buildings, using his keen eye and deft hand with a pencil. With his watercolors on hold because of his career, having a family and other of life's challenges, Engelien found them again in 2020, painting 100 pieces during the pandemic. "I probably gained 10 years of growth in my art techniques just in that one year," commented Engelien.

In 2000, Engelien, who also has a passion for travel, would document his visits with ink sketches. "I think that a sketch captures the emotion and memories of a trip better than anything," he said.

Engelien has been involved with the Bakersfield Museum of Art, too, serving as its director between 2014 and 2016.

While architectural subjects and urban spaces embody much of his subjects, he has added other subjects to his body of work. Portraits, wildlife and nature are now themes for his art as well.