The Artist Website of
  Mark Anthony Astrella
                          Astrella Art Design

Mark Astrella is the author and illustrator of "The Lucky Pioneer," a new novel based in the 1840s.

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Originally from central Massachusetts, Astrella has been living on the island of Maui for the last 30 years. 

 

Astrella has illustrated several children's picture books including The Desert Alphabet Book, The Butterfly Alphabet Book, The Butterfly Counting Book and Hello Ocean, a book about the 5 senses.

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After college, he opened his own commercial art studio in Massachusetts called Astrella Art Design, and provided illustration and graphic design to ad agencies and businesses. Over the years he created hundreds of logos, and everything from business cards to billboards.  His illustrations and cartoons have appeared in thousands of newspapers and magazines in over 80 countries, and the children’s books he has illustrated have been published and distributed worldwide in English and Spanish with over 1.25 million books sold.
 
In the 1980s, the Boston music scene was booming and Astrella loved to moonlight as a “lightman” for local rock bands.  The aspects of lighting a stage and painting a canvas are very similar activities. Color, contrast, symmetry, texture, mood and execution all come into play.  After years of gigs and weary of the cold New England winters, Astrella made a 6000 mile move to Maui in 1995, and found an exquisite island paradise with a flourishing art community and a tropical breeze. He met and married a beautiful local girl and began painting scenes of the ocean.  He exhibited his art in galleries and received commissions from tourists.  

 

Astrella was also offered a position as the Lighting Director at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, a world-class performing arts complex that hosts some of the world's top acts. In 2013, he became Technical Director at the venue overseeing all aspects of the performances, which included managing the technicians who run the audio, lighting, staging, video, and handle the backstage needs of renown performers. Astrella has more than 10,000 shows under his belt spanning 50 years. He is now retired and devotes his time to creative projects, and a lighting business he is a partner in called Hang Ten Event Lighting.

https://www.hangtenlighting.com/

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Mark Astrella can be contacted at astrellaartdesign@gmail.com

Please use the Contact page to send a message to Mark.

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