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| Full information about the artist |
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| First Name | Karen |
| Last Name | Mason |
| Born | 1960-10-01 |
| Country | United States |
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| Biography | |
Karen Mason expresses a unique contemporary flair in her landscape, floral and bird paintings, through the combination of vibrant texture and luminous atmosphere. The unique translucent atmospheric effects she achieves in her oil and acrylic paintings were influenced by her earlier study of watercolor washes and glazing techniques. Her large-scale multi-panel pieces resemble Asian folding screens and provide the flexibility to be re-arranged to suit their surroundings. Mason's paintings are on display in private and corporate collections across the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and France.
Having lived in the mid-west and on both coasts, Mason has long been intrigued by the saturated palette of coastal wetlands, lush landscapes and forested mountains. As she states, "Nature's organic structures have inspired my work, allowing me to take more of a child's perspective in addressing the enormity of 'looking up' with the freshness of 'looking at' a world full of surprises found in new beginnings."
Mason's Italian heritage and the influence of Asian design become evident in her paintings. In her work she combines the radiant passion of color with the tranquility of understated lines. This unique pairing invites you to experience pungent moments and delightful surprises against a quieted backdrop of exquisite detail and liquid atmosphere. She has family in Northern Italy and has traveled extensively throughout the country. In her most recent travels, she visited Florence and spent afternoons painting street scenes, between regular tours of the sity's remarkable art museums and churches. The lure of the East comes through in her uniquely American Orientalist painting style, which balances the beauty and splendor of nature against elements of imperfection and change. Having worked with Japanese automotive companies to interpret historical and cultural motifs into contemporary formats, Mason now applies these same principles to her paintings.
Her latest Tall Slice Series paintings invite the viewer to look up into majestic structures found in nature and urban architecture. The embracing environments of her large-scale paintings communicate the moment when you find yourself face to face with brilliant tropical flowers in a bamboo-like forest, or among melodious birches as the ground warms in the afternoon. Mason is currently working on her next two series: her Brilliant Birds Series looks at both the comical and graceful aspects of birds; in her Little Big Series each piece starts with a small plein aire painting that is then magnified with the same spontaneity into a larger multi-panel vista.
Mason's large-scale paintings have a unique contemporary flair, which is achieved though the application of thickly painted saturated oil colors over thin layers of acrylic glaze and collage. In this way she balances bold perspective and color with a translucency that evokes tranquility and space. In addition to her single-canvas pieces, Mason creates multi-panel paintings that can be displayed as a mural grouping or in small sets.
Mason's paintings are on display at the Art People Gallery in San Francisco, and at ACCI Gallery in Berkeley, California. She teaches art in the after-school program near her home, and works with corporations to promote an environment of innovation and host speaking events on emerging trend topics. Most days you can find Karen Mason painting in her garden studio in Berkeley or working plein air in the California hills. |
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| Style Realism |
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| A style of painting which depicts subject matter (form, color, space) as it appears in actuality or ordinary visual experience without distortion or stylization. In a general sense, refers to objective representation. More specifically, a nineteenth century movement, especially in France, that rejected idealized academic styles in favor of everyday subjects. Daumier, Millet, and Courbet were realists. |
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Red Crested Crane Tango
by Mason |
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Luminous Sisters
by Mason |
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Fire Orange Maple
by Mason |
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