Mark King

2009, 12 minutes

Aspiring artist Marc King endures a turbulent home life whilst desperately trying to exploit his talent and passion before age and responsibilities close the door for ever.

Marc King seems blissfully unaware to the passers by as he draws a chalk picture onto the street. He is in a trance like state as people fleetingly stop and admire his work. As it begins to rain he checks his watch, pours water onto his creation and jogs away onto the next bus. At home his house is cluttered with his sketches and paintings. His wife Claire comes in from work and their relationship seems tense. She becomes annoyed by his lack of desire to find regular work. She describes how they’re struggling financially and she drops the bombshell that she’s pregnant. Marc is unsure how to take this news. The next day at work he is more distracted than usual and can barely string a sentence together to clients. He is indifferent to his financially motivated colleagues and keeps his distance from them. Frustrated and bored he gives up for the day and sits on a bench and starts to draw. Back at home his relationship with Claire hits bottom as he confesses to earning no commission for the week. They row about his dream and she says if he was going to make it he’d have made it by now. She says she’s booked him an interview tomorrow afternoon for a call centre job. In a flashback we see a young Marc lovingly paint his mother’s portrait as she lies gravely ill in bed. She encourages him to continue his art while his father stands in the background. Two years later his mother has passed away and his relationship with his father is crashing. His dad uses the same arguments as Claire and tries to force him to get a “proper job”. Marc backs his bag and moves out. Present day he arrives for the interview but cannot bear the banality of stifling his passion so he leaves. He sits on a bench opposite the company building and draws a hellish picture of it. Feeling unable to return home to Claire he visits his father in hospital. It’s clear he is seriously ill and they haven’t spoken for a long time. Marc confesses all to his dad and apologises for not being a more obedient son. He does reaffirm his passion for art and says he couldn’t cope doing anything else. Late that night when he returns home Claire has left him. She discovered he missed the interview and she’s gone to live with her sister. Marc meets his uncle Joe and gets his father’s belongings. Neither men have to state that he’ll pass away soon. Marc is moved to see that he kept all of his childhood sketches. A few weeks later Marc is reunited with Claire as they both attend his father’s funeral. Although sympathetic Claire maintains her distance from Marc. He temporarily moves into his father’s house but is haunted by childhood memories. He sells the house determined to move on. A man he sees round the house notices his paintings and turns out to be an art dealer. As well as buying the house he is very positive about displaying his work. Marc returns to Claire with his financial and creative needs both satisfied for now. He apologises to Claire, now renewed with optimism he promises her everything’s going to work out.

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