Mark Carder was born in Hawaii in 1963. He currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama where he has lived since 1977.

Mr. Carder started painting seriously at the age of 22. He taught himself to paint in oil by studying and copying works by John Singer Sargent, Rembrandt, George Inness and Henry Raeburn. He considers Sargent and Diego Velazquez to be his greatest influences. His portraits are most often compared to those of John Singer Sargent.

From the beginning of his professional career, Mark Carder's work has been in high demand, including commissions from Europe and Asia. On June 24, 1990, The Birmingham News said of Carder's work, "The people in Carder's portraits don't look intimidated. Far from it, they look serene and secure and completely comfortable. No strained smiles, no ostentatious backgrounds or pretentious poses. They look, in Carder's words, 'the way they are.'"

Says Carder, "My philosophy on portraiture is to show respect for the individual and to capture their likeness on canvas recognizing I am painting a real person, and every subject is unique."

Following the 2002 unveiling in Washington, D.C. of Carder's portrait of George and Barbara Bush, President Bush wrote the following, "Dear Mark, I like it. I like it a lot. So will Barbara..."

For most of the year, Mr. Carder works in his Birmingham studio. He spends a considerable amount of time with clients in the Washington D.C. area. He prefers to travel to his client's homes or offices because he feels it is essential to capture his subjects in their own environment.

To find out about Mark Carder's how-to-paint DVD visit www.thecardermethod.com