Mark Lewis Wagner is a traditional and digital artist, educator, author, and creative director whose career has moved across fine art, illustration, graphic design, film, street painting, and visual storytelling. His work has included concept art for film, graphic novels, illustration, music, and large-scale public art. His clients and collaborators have included the Smithsonian Institution – National Museum of Natural History, Pixar/Disney, SpaceX, Target, CBS Interactive, PG&E, the Oakland Museum, Oakland Zoo, PASEO, and Tomorrow’s Women.
Wagner’s artistic adventures began in rural Pennsylvania when, as a second grader, he started drawing monsters and spaceships. Decades later, he found himself doing much the same thing professionally, working as a concept artist on the Pixar/Disney feature film John Carter, where he helped bring monsters and spaceships to life. He credits his older brother with sparking his desire to draw and his mother with nurturing his creative spirit.
His fascination with visual storytelling also led to the creation of Graffiti Wars: When Art Saved the World, a graphic novel trilogy exploring art and war, initiation, humanity, and the battle for creative expression. The series reflects Wagner’s lifelong connection to drawing, street art, storytelling, and the belief that art can transform both individuals and communities.
Wagner holds an MA in Art & Consciousness from John F. Kennedy University and a BFA in Art & Design from Pratt Institute. He has taught art and creativity in digital art colleges, graduate school, and a state prison, and currently teaches art online through Chabot College in Hayward, California.
He is the Founder and Creative Director of the nonprofit Drawing on Earth, through which he has worked creatively with more than 50,000 children and adults. His projects have taken him to three continents and include two world-record chalk drawings and seven works of art photographed by satellites.
Wagner now lives and makes art in rural Northern New Mexico. He is a volunteer Firefighter, First Responder, and involved in the Men’s movement.
