Self Portrait with Beret 1972

Frank Mason’s Self Portrait with Beret is a painting seemingly made with layers of warm toned oil paint. The earthy palette feels traditional, and up close you can see these luscious strokes loaded with pigment. The paint is brushed confidently, but also kind of scrubbed and blended, particularly around the artist's face and hand. The gesture of the hand, which is placed on the artist’s chest, feels like a dramatic flourish, and it also feels like a key to the whole painting. It's not quite photorealist, but it has a weight, the weight of a real human hand placed there by the artist. The face is full of character, which is made through the tonal range. This painting feels like it is in conversation with the Dutch Masters, and the works of Rembrandt who also painted many self portraits. I think these paintings are interesting because they demonstrate that art is often about exchange of ideas across time, with the artist and their work placed right in the middle of it.