A sad bit of news came to me today by way of our contributing writer in the U.K., Ken Gofton. He'd received a call over the weekend with the news that artist Mark Leach had died suddenly on Friday. Ken says, "I've only known him for the last couple of years ... but he was a really nice guy, always willing to help, and of course he was a very talented artist."

Mark worked in pastel to create primarily landscapes of some of Europe's loveliest locations—Venice, Provence, Paris and his own English countryside. He favored a vibrant palette and expressive style (as seen in Roquebrune III, at left) and won many honors. Most recently, he was awarded this year's Orange Street Gallery prize at the 109th exhibition of the Pastel Society UK, an organization in which Mark was very active, serving as both treasurer and president-elect.

We were introduced to the artist in 2007 as the author of the new book, Raw Colour and we quickly planned a feature for the magazine, which appeared in the 2007 June issue. If you'd like to learn more about this talented artist, you can find a PDF of that article on our website by clicking here.