Mark Cook received his formal training at The American of Academy of Art in Chicago, where the urban landscape couldn’t have been more different from his youth spent in rural Illinois. It was an illuminating experience nonetheless, and one that opened him to the beauty that skyscrapers and silos share. Thus he learned how to master rural landscapes—especially the Flint Hills—as well as urban scenes. Mark’s collectors include Saint Luke’s Health System, Federal Home Loan Bank, University of Kansas Hospital, University Health Center, CrossFirst Bank, and hundreds of private collectors throughout the Midwest. He has also been featured on Tamara Day's HGTV program, Bargain Mansions. His preferred medium is oil on canvas. Mark worked as one of Hallmark’s top artists for twenty-five years, until he decided to pursue his own art full-time, which fortunately has gone quite well for him.