The Bather 1967

Frank Mason made this painting, called "The Bather", with oil. It is an exercise in tonal painting where color is used to describe light and shadow. You can almost see the artist circling around the figure, searching for the perfect angle, the exact tone. The painting feels very immediate and alive. See how the brushstrokes are visible and the paint is applied quite thickly? Mason doesn't try to hide the process of painting; rather, he embraces it. He uses the physicality of the medium to create a sense of depth and texture, which enhances the emotional impact of the work. Look at the way he renders the knee, it’s almost abstract and then grounded with the precise description of the figure's foot. It puts me in mind of Velazquez, another painter who was obsessed with the way light falls on the human body. Like Velazquez, Mason seems to understand that painting isn't just about representation; it's about capturing a feeling, a mood, a fleeting moment in time. It’s about exploring the endless possibilities of paint.