Elf Portrait in Red Shirt 2006

This is Frank Mason’s ‘Elf Portrait in Red Shirt’, and it’s painted in the style of a sketch. The brushstrokes are applied directly. You can tell the painting came into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. Looking at the work, I think of Frank standing there, in his studio, probably cold, needing that scarf. What I love is how you can see the physicality of the paint – it's not blended to perfection, but instead, it has thick, expressive marks. The way he's handled the white shirt is my favourite: such bold strokes. Imagine the feeling of the brush in his hand as he lays down these lines. This directness of application lends the image a sense of urgency. This piece reminds me of the work of Fairfield Porter, and the two artists share a wonderful painterly approach. These guys are constantly in conversation, inspiring one another's creativity. Painting is a form of embodied expression, and the surface is ambiguous. It allows for multiple interpretations, it’s never fixed.