Karen Mason - Artist Biography
karenmason@comcast.net
www.karenmason-artist.com
www.facebook.com/karen.mason.artist
510/725-2152
Karen Mason expresses a unique contemporary flair in her bird and botanical paintings through the combination of bold lines and luminous atmosphere. The influence of her Italian heritage and emersion into Asian culture become evident in her paintings – from the raw expression of Renaissance Masters style, to the balancing of nature’s splendor and imperfection in a contemporary Wabi Sabi Asian style.
The translucent atmospheric effect Mason achieves in her oil and resin/acrylic paintings is influenced by her earlier study of watercolor washes and glazing techniques in painting Italian and California landscapes. Painting allows her to convey such warm lazy afternoon experiences in a meaningful way, holding the moment together with layers of atmospheric color and stark bold lines that connect and clarify the relationship of the characters.
Botanical bouquets come to life in layers of tinted resin, textured surfaces, and oil glazes; sewn together with and strongly inked lines and cadmium pops of color to depict the vase-captured flora and its looming shadow. Finding those moments when the gifted flora bouquet decides to play, dance, and sprint with its shadow against a wallpaper backdrop.
In the Shadow Makers series, one gives another a present of bouquet of flowers, and its shadow follows – sometimes in larger than life size, above and below your feet, ahead or lagging behind. Reflections steal the spirit, while a shadow is the spirit that remains with you, outlining, reflecting you.
Mason’s sun-drenched birch trees and pampas field paintings set the mood and are inspirational focal points, capturing the simplicity of traditional woodblock and the spender of liquid landscapes in her paintings. While her bird paintings invite the viewer to experience the drama and grace of raptors and the curiosity and confidence of young character birds as they maneuver through their world. Such large-scale multi-panel pieces resemble Asian folding screens and can be re-arranged to suit their surroundings.
Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections around the world. She believes that such growing international interest is grounded in her having learned to “look at the world” rather than just see it, and her ability to draw viewers into the same experience as they approach the warmth of her paintings from across the room to be delighted with the detail of the budding relationships and interactions.
Mason is inspired each day by birds and botanicals that surround her. Her garden studio offers the opportunity to paint outdoors and spend hours “looking up and at the world” – through the trees to the sky as she watches birds fearlessly jump among the branches.
www.karenmason-artist.com
www.facebook.com/karen.mason.artist
510/725-2152
Karen Mason expresses a unique contemporary flair in her bird and botanical paintings through the combination of bold lines and luminous atmosphere. The influence of her Italian heritage and emersion into Asian culture become evident in her paintings – from the raw expression of Renaissance Masters style, to the balancing of nature’s splendor and imperfection in a contemporary Wabi Sabi Asian style.
The translucent atmospheric effect Mason achieves in her oil and resin/acrylic paintings is influenced by her earlier study of watercolor washes and glazing techniques in painting Italian and California landscapes. Painting allows her to convey such warm lazy afternoon experiences in a meaningful way, holding the moment together with layers of atmospheric color and stark bold lines that connect and clarify the relationship of the characters.
Botanical bouquets come to life in layers of tinted resin, textured surfaces, and oil glazes; sewn together with and strongly inked lines and cadmium pops of color to depict the vase-captured flora and its looming shadow. Finding those moments when the gifted flora bouquet decides to play, dance, and sprint with its shadow against a wallpaper backdrop.
In the Shadow Makers series, one gives another a present of bouquet of flowers, and its shadow follows – sometimes in larger than life size, above and below your feet, ahead or lagging behind. Reflections steal the spirit, while a shadow is the spirit that remains with you, outlining, reflecting you.
Mason’s sun-drenched birch trees and pampas field paintings set the mood and are inspirational focal points, capturing the simplicity of traditional woodblock and the spender of liquid landscapes in her paintings. While her bird paintings invite the viewer to experience the drama and grace of raptors and the curiosity and confidence of young character birds as they maneuver through their world. Such large-scale multi-panel pieces resemble Asian folding screens and can be re-arranged to suit their surroundings.
Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections around the world. She believes that such growing international interest is grounded in her having learned to “look at the world” rather than just see it, and her ability to draw viewers into the same experience as they approach the warmth of her paintings from across the room to be delighted with the detail of the budding relationships and interactions.
Mason is inspired each day by birds and botanicals that surround her. Her garden studio offers the opportunity to paint outdoors and spend hours “looking up and at the world” – through the trees to the sky as she watches birds fearlessly jump among the branches.