[2] Mark Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born at Dalton, Northumberland, the eldest of five children of industrialist Maurice Fiennes and his wife Sylvia Joan (née Finlay).
Fiennes was educated at Eton College for several years before he fell ill with glomerulonephritis, a type of kidney disease.
In hope of improving his health, his parents sent him to Australia, New Zealand and the United States, where Fiennes studied agriculture.
In 1985, he received a commission from the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. to produce images for their exhibit Treasure Houses of Britain.
[4] He was commissioned to illustrate books for a number of British and American publishers, including HarperCollins, Random House, Thames & Hudson and Yale University Press.