Meet the Maker – Gail Mason

Hi Gail, could you please introduce yourself and your creative background?

I’m a painter-printmaker working primarily in silk screen monotype. I was awarded an MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking in 2004 from the University of the West of England (UWE) after completing a BA in Fine Art and my early career was in fashion and textiles. I didn’t grow up in a particularly creative household, although I have professional artists on both sides of my family from previous generations. I attended a very small school and was given freedom to experiment artistically by an incredibly inspiring art teacher. I was often found in the art rooms during free lessons and breaks.

Your process appears to blur the bounds between painting and printmaking. Can you give us more insight into your process and how each of these disciplines inform each other?

I paint directly onto a mesh and then push the paint through onto the paper below. There is no matrix so I can’t repeat any mark. I build up the image from successive layers using transparency and mark making. I only create a single piece of work, not multiple editions, as in traditional printmaking. I use brushes and tools to apply the paint to the mesh and these marks can be clearly seen in the finished works. My paintings are daydreams so I often paint where I would like to be, when in reality I am in a cold and quite dark barn. It is quite an exhaustive process but I always feel energised after making. Editing and thinking about the work, assessing and revisiting them over a period of time allows for a kind of consistency.

Your work is incredibly lively and expressive. How does your mood influence your creative process?

I always paint standing up which gives the work energy. I do find that the lighter my mood the more expressive my marks. I have to be feeling robust to create well. If I paint when I am feeling low then it can result in over heavy or uncertain marks. It all goes into the mix though as the works can take several days or weeks to complete, and a particular mood doesn’t necessarily stay around for that long! My best work is when I allow the painting to really be rather than imposing something on it. I think ultimately it’s about letting go and creating an imagined healing environment.

Is your practice entirely instinctive or do you have a plan or colour palette in mind before starting each piece?

I think about the colour palette before I begin and that will depend on my mood, and often reflects the colours I have chosen to wear that day. I like to work instinctively, allowing my brush to take the lead. The work is a conversation with itself, I may start with a vague idea but I am led by my brush marks creating unexpected elements. I improvise around a given theme using dissonance and harmony, much like a jazz musician. Colour for me is inherently emotional. Particular colours will make me feel low such as a dark but garish green, so I tend not to use them. I want my work to feel positive and lift the spirits. I will spend a whole morning just mixing a set of colours so that they ‘taste’ just right.

What are some of your greatest influences, both artistically and generally?

I think my greatest influence was living in Purbeck Dorset, and walking with my dog around the coastline, on the hills and through the sheep droves. Really spending time appreciating nature. I revel in colour and admire painters who use it in ways that feel really positive to me. I was initially very influenced by the abstract expressionists and for a long time worked in a very abstract way, but found my work forming into a recognisable landscape format as I felt the need to be grounded. Now I feel as though my work has more of an affinity with the impressionists.

What are you most excited to be working on currently?

I want to develop my work onto surfaces that do not need glazing, incorporating painting and printing in a new way. I recently bought an etching press but I am also excited about simply painting onto canvas. I am intrigued as to how I can mesh the two approaches!

Don’t miss Gail Mason’s latest collection of original monotype prints, on display in the gallery until May 3rd.