Mark Daily

Mark Daily, artist, died on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, at the age of 81.

When he was 21, Mark left Chicago for Taos, New Mexico, hoping to see the work of the Russian master artist

Nicolai Fechin. Fechin had left Taos, but Mark met his former wife, Tinka. She immediately liked Mark and

made a plan: he could see all the paintings in the house if he, being a member of the National Guard, would

protect her in case of a revolution. Mark happily agreed. He stayed in Taos.

In the Taos years, he became friends with Ken Bunn, George Carlson, Len Chmiel, Ned Jacob, Buffalo

Kaplinski, George Mclean, Bill Sharer, and Jon Zahourek. Later, in Denver, he met the "young ones": Bill

Alther, Chris Berg, Raj Chaudhuri, Gayle Crites, T. Allen Lawson, Michael Lynch, Quang-Ho, and Daniel

Sprick. A multi-talented, highly gifted group of artists whose generosity to each other couldn't be surpassed.

In their midst, Mark became an artist's artist. He had been blessed with exceptional eyesight and a

photographic memory, and he became a master of color. One artist commented that Mark loaded every

brushstroke with color—and his paintings sung with energy and power. Other artists spoke of the luminosity

and vibrancy of his work.

From time to time, Mark, despite his shyness, taught a workshop or a group of students. Reputed to be a no-

nonsense teacher, he refused to demonstrate his own work, saying that he was there to help, but each student

had to find their own path. Most of them did, and he loved them for it.

Mark, with his high-quality aesthetics, rarely believed that his painting measured up to what he had

envisioned, often leaving his galleries with a long delay between paintings—Jody Kerburger, Oklahoma;

Sandra Wilson, Santa Fe and Denver; Linda and Jim Fisher, Denver; Chris Mileham, Denver; and Dustin

Belyeu, Nedra Matteucci Galleries, Santa Fe.

Mark's close friends and family knew of his kindness, strength, and his sense of humor. He came from a

wonderful family: mother, father, brothers, sister, and a raft of incredibly caring aunts, uncles, and cousins. He

was a wizard with young children. Mark, an early riser, always had breakfast ready for his daughter's sleep-

over friends.

Mark is survived by his wife, Jan; his beloved daughter, Brett; Brett's husband Albert and their son, Kai; his

brothers Gerald, Tom, Daniel and sister Mary; and his in-laws John and Margaret Akolt.

Art critics often ask, "What is the artist trying to say here?" Mark knew exactly what he wanted to say—"I reach for beauty”