Phyllis with Guitar and Mirror 1950

Frank Mason painted Phyllis with Guitar and Mirror using oil on canvas. There’s a kind of hazy, dreamy quality to the light in this picture. It’s the kind of light that makes you want to sink into the painting and just hang out there for a while. I imagine Mason starting with a rough sketch, maybe even scrubbing in some of the shadows first, and then slowly building up the layers of paint. I imagine him squinting at the model, trying to capture the way the light falls across her face and clothing. And the mirror in the background—it’s like he’s trying to capture two different versions of reality at the same time. The red curtain in the corner adds a pop of drama, don't you think? It feels like he's pulling inspiration from the Old Masters, but doing his own thing. It’s as if he’s saying, "Yeah, I'm part of this tradition, but I'm also going to mess with it a little bit". That’s what I’m always trying to do as a painter myself, and I bet you are too.