Read about what inspires the unique artist Beverley Mason:
I have become a professional artist as a mature woman. However, I loved art as a child and teenager and can still remember some of my early artistic projects: painting a scene of the Garden of Eden on a bookcase when I was aged 9; drawing and painting a psychedelic pattern on an envelope I used to send a fan letter to a pop star (I can’t remember which one!); drawing portraits of the fairies I swear existed in the garden.
My earliest artistic influence was William Blake; I was fascinated and horrified at his religious paintings which he claimed came to him in visions. His figures then and even now are some of the most astonishing representations of human spiritual experiences there has ever been. His imagination knew no limits and as a figurative artist I believe my imagination is my greatest gift. I “see” colour and images in my head and create scenarios which can encompass these. My love of Renaissance paintings, the Pre- Raphaelites, The Symbolists, literary tales of decadence and debauchery and images from circus, theatre, burlesque and cabaret provide me with a never-ending source of exciting baroque scenarios. The possibilities for my imagination are boundless!
After I left university, I went straight into a writing career and this continued for 20 years. I have been a women’s magazine writer, a playwright, an advertising and public relations copywriter and short story writer. Writing provided me with an outlet for my creative nature for most of my adult life. I was good at it but I always saw writing as a ‘job’ and all that entails: an attention to strict guidelines, deadlines, a sense of frustration, limited creative and artistic freedom and the creeping realisation that youre in the wrong job!
It was only after a long problematic period in my personal life that I one day returned to art again by taking an evening class in textiles. This was the turning point for me and I decided to pursue training to become an artist. I did a Foundation Course in Art and at the end of it I knew I wanted to be a figurative painter. For two years I painted on my own, struggling with technique and style but never running low on ideas and creative vision. I then completed an art degree in painting at London University. Since then I have painted incessantly and have slowly developed a rich and diverse body of work. I use my knowledge of literature, theatre and history as a huge source of inspiration and subject matter.
As a female artist I see and paint women as sexual beings with beautiful bodies, enticing and mysterious. My paintings reflect the eternal female and I advocate the female body as something to admire. I love female erotica, beauty and sexuality, but I also explore sexual struggle and the antagonism of nature. I depict erotic femininity using clothing and costume, within a framework of theatre, burlesque and circus. I am also attracted to androgyny, my figures blurring the lines of sexual identity and eroticism through clothing and attitude. My artistic influences are Weimar culture, Klimt, Dulac, Schiele, northern Renaissance artists such as Cranach, the pre-Raphaelites and of course Blake.
I hope to continue painting with a sense of excitement and fulfilment. I hope my painting never fails me. This is not a job, this is my vocation. This is life!