I have spent a lifetime involved in the creative process of countless compositions for the frame as an actor/writer in theater, film and television (IMDB). Having also drawn and painted my entire life, my thought process is most often visual. It has been a natural progression for me to evolve into a painter of pictures. Academically, I've studied the Old Masters for as long as I can remember. Ten years ago I took up the study of painting in oil in earnest. Portraiture interests me particularly in that all the elements I find compelling converge in terms of character study, pictorial composition and academic tradition. The artists I aspire to most, stood at the pinnacle of the genre in their time. I call them “The Big Guns”. I have done master copies of the self portraits of Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Van Dyke, Velazquez, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Sir Thomas Lawrence and John Singer Sargent. “The Big Guns” are mounted on my studio ceiling staring down at me as stern but benevolent guardian angels. Certain standards must be upheld.
Studio Tour with Tom Mason