Telluride Wine Festival

Roger Mason

“He has been called one of the great painters of his generation. His paintings adorn the home and offices of some of the more powerful people on the planet. Yet Roger Mason is still a familiar sight on Colorado Avenue, putting final strokes on a canvass that captures a moment of time.” Stephanie Campbell of The Artful Mind Many people use the phrase “blank canvas” metaphorically, but artist Roger Mason selects the Telluride New Sheridan Hotel year after year as his literal canvas and Telluride’s Main Street as his personal atelier. Mason hails from New York’s Hudson Valley and was trained at New York’s Pratt Institute. The town’s box-canyon setting offers dramatic lighting with heavy shadows that play upon colorful storefronts, lamp- posts, cars, street life, and mountains. He found his way to Telluride through his music.

In addition to painting, he is also a renowned bass player and played for Peter Rowan at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1979. In the 1990s, he toured in a trio with world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman playing to crowds at places like Wolf Trap and Tanglewood. Mason also played bass with The Band. Painting is music to him, and they both intertwine and fuel each other in an artistic way.

The next time you’re in Telluride, strolling Main Street, make sure to be on the lookout for that man in the paint-splattered shirt.

“When is a painting finished? When it’s breathing…” Roger

http://www.therogermason.com