Mark Witteveen moved to Alaska at a very young age and grew up commercial salmon fishing set netting and seining and halibut longlining in Kodiak. After receiving his Bachelor and Master of Fisheries degrees at the University of Washington, Mark has worked as a management and research biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Mark also constructed his own home and currently lives there with his wife, Bree, a whale research biologist. Mark is currently a salmon and herring research biologist for the department, a co owner of Alaska Spirit, a small seafood processing business specializing in salmon jerky, and an artist specializing in metal sculpture.

Mark doesn’t have any formal art training, but his background in biology and a lifetime spent commercial and sport fishing has left him attentive to details. His anatomically correct marine sculptures come alive in a unique medium – plate steel, aluminum, brass, and copper. Each of his metal sculptures is created right in his own garage in Kodiak.

Mark begins each piece by sketching his design directly on the metal and then uses a plasma cutter to cut out the shape. With his equipment, he is able to get a high degree of precision and detail. He uses leather shaping bags, various blacksmith and auto industry shaping hammers and a planishing hammer to create compound curves giving his sculptures life. To get life-like coloration and patterns, he uses a variety of heating and cooling techniques as well as a variety of grinding and buffing techniques. As Mark continues to develop his skills, he brings an exciting new perspective to Alaska’s artistic community.