Gregory Mason lives and works in Exeter, U.K. as well as Pollença, Mallorca. He studied at Saint Martin's School of Art, London 1979–1983 and became an academician of the South West Academy in 2017.

 

Mason’s practice sits within the inherited traditions of landscape and figurative painting, whilst remaining dedicated to exploring the possibilities of contemporary mark-making. Concerned with capturing the character of a particular place or personality, Mason belongs to an impressive lineage of realist artists, including Gwen John, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Lucian Freud, for whom authenticity in relation to the subject was key.

 

Working from the studio and en plein air, Mason works in oil on both linen and canvas, loosely constructing and deconstructing each painting several times over in order to locate in paint the moment that captures the essential poetry of his chosen subject. Working in this way lends a freshness to the application of paint and allows for an immediacy in responding to light and shade.