Mark Anthony Gucciardi was born April 14, 1970 in Gloucester, Massachusetts and at age five his family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. As a child, his love for drawing often created problems for him throughout school but managed his way to a High School Diploma that allowed him a position as a Picture Framer for a notable gallery in Charlotte. It was there that he was introduced to the works of North Carolina artist, Ben Long and Minnesota artist, Charles Kapsner. For Mark, these artists demonstrated a level of craftsmanship that would inspire him to pursue a carrier as an Artist. The continued exposure and inspiration drawn from Long and Kapsner’s work, and the help of Mark’s mother and stepfather, led him to Florence, Italy in 1997.
   
   Mark attended The Florence Academy of Art from January 1998 - to the end of Summer 2002. The last two of his five years at the academy Mark became an assistant drawing instructor for the drawing and sculpture programs. In addition he taught figure, landscape, and portrait painting during summer session workshops for the academy.            

   The academy’s methods and environment helped shape Mark into the Realist Painter that he is today. Currently Mark paints in and out of his studio near Florence, offers private lessons and teaches at local academies in Florence. Mark’s pieces include still lifes, landscapes, nudes, portraits and copies of Master paintings. His work is found among private collections in Europe and the United States.