Friends of the Coastal Branch Library recently announced that their featured artist of the month for April is Mark Douglass. Douglass is a Walton county native and a resident of Santa Rosa Beach.

Growing up in DeFuniak Springs, his mother and older sister first discovered ‘his gift’ at the age of three when he showed them a drawing of a map of the United States. Curiously, they looked at one another and asked, “Where did you get that?”

As a child, Douglass drew pictures of his favorite cartoon characters, starting with Popeye and progressing to super heroes. His family lived in Sarasota for several years where he attended summer classes at the Ringling School of Art. After moving back to DeFuniak and graduating from Walton High School, Douglass studied Art at PJC and FSU, taking a position with Homes and Land Publishing’s art department.

His political cartoons have appeared in print since 1978 in several local newspapers and appear weekly in the DeFuniak Herald-Beach Breeze.

Douglass draws caricatures at festivals, parties and weddings, and does land and seascape paintings using acrylics and watercolors.

During the 80s, he worked as a full-time musician, playing keyboards, harmonica, percussion, and singing with several regional rock and top 40 bands. Active in local theater as an actor, musician, technical director, and songwriter, Douglass serves as a board member of the Florida Chautauqua Theater and is the current president of Grit and Grace, the official folklife production of Walton County.

His favorite artists are Mort Drucker (caricaturist for Mad Magazine), Al Capp (Lil’ Abner), Carmine Infantino (DC Comics), Peter Paul Rubens and Salvador Dali. His major influences are his mother, baroque art, the funny papers and The Beatles. Mark considers his ‘greatest accomplishment’ as being a single parent to three beautiful children, Jacob, 21; Mandy, 16; and Mac, 12.

Mark’s work will be displayed at the Coastal Branch Library in Santa Rosa Beach throughout the month of April.