Mark A. Coe was born in Weisbauden, Germany, to United States Air Force Lieutenant Peter S. Coe and Ceinwen G. Edwards Coe. Four years later, he was enrolled in an art class in Naples, Italy. It was there that his love for art was realized. After that, his only formal training was in public school classrooms. Mark is considered to be a self-taught artist. Over the years, he has developed his own painting techniques and style. Mark began his professional career in 1982, as a science fiction artist. His work was displayed and sold by Pendragon Galleries in Annapolis, MD, and at science fiction conventions. Years later, after having painted trompe l'oeil scenes/objects and murals for several clients on the East Coast, he discovered that he preferred realism. Mark found it to be more interesting and challenging. By 1994, he was producing high-qualilty paintings that depicted the scenery and wildlife he had seen and studied while working as a muralist for and traveling with a museum exhibit fabrication company. Unfortunately, due to his work with the aforementioned company as well as other projects, he has had little time to devote to producing and promoting his artwork. Nevertheless, it has been displayed and sold. In fact, in 1997, one of his paintings, "Edge of the Deep," won "Best of Show" at the John A. Logan Art and Wildlife Show. This show included nationally known, award winning artists.
More recently, Mark completed a 4800 square foot background mural for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.
Currently, he his pursuing a BS in computer science at SIU Carbondale, IL, and is due to graduate in May 2006.