Mark Lipscomb is a Los Angeles–based painter whose work explores the shifting landscapes and psychological contrasts of Southern California. Born in Washington, D.C., and trained at the Corcoran Museum School and the San Francisco Art Institute, Lipscomb emerged as a leading voice in what critics called the “new landscape school.” His early plein-air pieces evolved into large, abstract panels capturing the tension between nature and human development. Critics have likened him to David Hockney for his ability to find pleasure and conflict within the same scene. Described as “a thinking man’s Hockney,” Lipscomb paints Los Angeles as both paradise and paradox—a desert technologized by man, where light and shadow mirror the city’s extremes of wealth and poverty. Influenced by De Kooning, Diebenkorn, and the Bay Area Abstractionists, Lipscomb’s recent works embrace what he terms “mass perspective,” merging emotion, geometry, and intuition into vibrant, atmospheric compositions.