Retirement from a fast-paced corporate career enabled Mike Mason to slow down and rediscover his love of photography, his simple roots as an Idaho ranch hand, and his “final darkroom” his studio. Here he painted his realistic watercolors of today’s cowboy using multiple washes in vibrant colors.

Mike’s art began with photography.  He was always prepared with two cameras, five lenses and ten rolls of film, for situations like cattle drives and cowboys working on a typical ranch day.  “I enjoy painting the western subject matter because it feels good, life hasn’t changed enough to cloud the mystique still evident in the contemporary cowboy.”

The meticulous detail in his luminous paintings led many people to comment that his leather and fabrics are the most realistically “touchable” that they had ever seen.  He minimized mixing colors on the palette so the colors remained pure and strong.  By patiently building up paint glazes in very complex layers using both wash/floating color and dry brush techniques he created magnificent western art.

In 2000, Mike was selected as the feature artist of Sun Valley, Idaho’s Wagon Day Celebration and in 2001 his painting of Marv, Jack and Josh was selected for The Three Island Crossing poster.  This painting and others are on view at the Three Island State Park and Oregon Trail Interpretative Center.

Mike only painted for ten years, but there are now over one hundred original watercolor paintings in corporate and private collections in the USA, Europe, Canada, and Australia.

In August of 2003, Mike succumbed to terminal cancer.  The world lost a fine western artist, but we can continue to enjoy his paintings through his giclee prints and his book “Day’s End” The Watercolors and Photography of Michael K. Mason. 

Mike’s signed, numbered, giclee (zee-clay) limited edition prints are on heavy watercolor paper.  The original watercolor is scanned and then the printer and I work together to achieve a print that is as close to the original painting as is possible.         Janet Mason