About Mark
Over the past 44 years, Mark Kistler has taught millions of children how-to-draw on his Public Television Series “The Secret City” in the 1980’s, and “The Imagination Station” in the 1990’s.
He has presented thousands of K-12 Visual Arts School Assembly Workshops around the world including; Australia, Germany, England, Scotland, Mexico, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Dubai, India, France, Ireland, Tonga, and the United States.
Mark has written and illustrated many popular drawing books with over 1 million books sold. With Simon & Schuster Publishers Mark’s books include; “Learn to Draw with Commander Mark”, “Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad”, “Mark Kistler’s Imagination Station”, and “Drawing in 3-D with Mark Kistler”. With Scholastic Publishers his four-book children’s series is titled “Dare-to-Draw in 3-D!” His books, “You Can Draw in 30-Days”, and “You Can Draw in 30-Minutes” published with Da Capo Press, are his first books oriented more for adult learning.
As a result of his television series, drawing books, and school appearances Mark Kistler has generated over one million fan letters and emails containing 3-D drawings from children around the world.
Mark Kistler has been a featured guest artist (America’s Pop Art Icon) at over 100 comic conventions; New Orleans, Albuquerque, Portland, Cleveland, New York City, Houston, Sacramento, Minneapolis, Des Moines, San Antonio, Dallas, Philadelphia, Columbus, Nashville, Madison, Boston, Eugene, St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Tulsa, Brazil, Dubai UAE, Paris France, New Delhi and Mumbai India, Vancouver, Honolulu, Austin, Orlando, and Vienna Austria.
Over the last 40 years Mark Kistler has been featured in over 1,000 newspaper, magazine, and television interviews. Including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, New York Times, San Diego Union, Seattle Times, Baltimore Sun, San Francisco Chronicle, Albuquerque Journal, Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne Herald Sun, TV-Guide, NPR, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Nickelodeon, and media interviews in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, Oregon, Louisiana, West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, California, Montana, England, Austria, Australia, and India.
Mark deeply believes that learning how to draw in 3-D builds a child’s critical thinking skills while nourishing self-esteem. His positive messages on self-image, goal setting, dream questing, environmental awareness and the power of reading have inspired millions of children to discover their awesome individual potential.
Mark Kistler with Miranda and NBC WoodTV Team during his LIVE broadcast from the International ArtPrize event in Grand Rapids Michigan.
MEDIA COMMENTS ABOUT MARK KISTLER'S BOOK:
“You Can Draw In 30 Days”…
“Would make a great gift.”
Boston Globe
“Sharpen your pencils and open your sketchbook; your teacher is waiting.”
Infodad.com
“The book offers a set of valuable introductory lessons in putting what you see—in the real world or your mind’s eye—down on paper.”
Midwest Book Review
“A must for anyone who wants to pursue art but doesn’t know where to start.”
Desert News
“Kistler provides detailed instructions and tips that take the mystery out of making simple drawings that look good. He also uses a sense of humor and encouraging words to help.”
Sacramento Book Review
“Kistler’s approach is light and fun, and rather than overwhelming with technical terminology and intimidating concepts, he instead starts you out putting pencil to paper. Within the first few pages of the book, you are already well on your way…The approach presented in this book works so well because you get instant results, which inspire you to continue with the process.”
Kingman Daily Minor
DO YOU REMEMBER “THE SECRET CITY”?
In the 1980’s Mark Kistler joined creative forces with Maryland Public Television and created a unique children’s art series for Public Television. This 65-episode series was aired around the world and sparked the imaginations of millions of young viewers. The below video is of “The Secret City Mural”, a nostalgic look at this magical mural Mark created over 40 years ago.
"THE SECRET CITIES OF MARK KISTLER" MOVIE. The untold story of the legendary art educator behind the beloved '80s and 90's shows "The Secret City", "Draw Squad" and "Imagination Station". Mark Kistler became a well-known face on classic PBS alongside Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Bob Ross, and Reading Rainbow. He helped shape a pivotal era of instructional programming for children in the pre-youtube world, teaching 3D drawing before CGI. With over one million books sold, the Emmy-award-winning host continues to inspire audiences through his incredible hand-drawn worlds and unique teaching philosophies.
