Claudia 1969

Frank Mason’s ‘Claudia’ emerges from a dark ground in strokes of white and grey. You can almost feel him building up the form, scraping and layering, searching for the light on her skin. I imagine Mason in his studio, squinting at the model, trying to capture the way light defines her, how it curves around her body. It's not about perfection, but about finding the truth in what he sees and feels. Look how the brushwork becomes more urgent around her face, then looser as it moves down her body. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s what matters, here’s where the life is.” The brown background and dark shadows around the figure are reminiscent of Rembrandt, but the energetic, tangible brushstrokes are all Mason. We artists are constantly in conversation with those who came before, finding our own voice through theirs.