Local Artist Delights Animal Lovers with Pet Portraitures

In talking with Fountain Valley resident Linda Mason, one can instantly feel the passion she has for painting.

Her pieces of artwork depict various everyday subjects, from vibrant sunsets to floral encased architecture to dramatic still-lifes. But the majority of Mason’s oil paintings are of pets.

Her life-like art portrays dogs with sad brown eyes and rolls of furry, puppy fat. There are paintings of dogs with floppy ears and in ballet attire. One even features a cat in languid repose, and another shows a horse trotting peacefully in a meadow.

Mason has been an artist for more than 30 years and works mostly on commission. She has a love for painting animals. She creates pet portraits for doting pet owners for various occasions, including Christmas, birthdays and the occasional passing of a four-legged friend.

“I love painting pets,” she croons. “The thing about painting pets is there is an unconditional love. It’s that purest love that people have for their pets and that pets have for their people. I like to capture the individual personalities of pets, and I want my paintings to be lasting treasures that invoke a feeling of love when the owners look at it.”

Mason began painting all types of animals nearly 10 years ago when one of her paintings of her sister’s Lhasa Apso and Daschund caught the attention of a Laguna Beach shop owner. Since then, Mason has worked primarily on pet portraitures.

Mason also is passionate about making her customers happy with her work. She remembers one Christmas when a customer approached her and asked her to paint a portrait of her grandfather’s dog that had just passed away.

“He just sat outside by the tree and mourned,” Mason recalled the customer saying. Her portrait of the dog made the man wistful. “He was just really happy with it.”

Usually Mason first will get a picture of what the customer wants painted. She then sets up at a space in her house dedicated strictly for her art, and with easel and palette, she begins to create an image, often starting with the face. When she nears completion, she will contact her client and make sure they are satisfied with the uncompleted piece.

“I e-mail the picture and ask if there is anything they see that can be changed and that could be better,” Mason said. “As far as I know, I have (received) 100 percent satisfaction.”

Mason has dabbled in art for as long as she can remember, including jewelry making. She studied art at both the University of Texas-El Paso and at the Arts Center College of Design in Pasadena. Mason has experimented in various mediums, including graphite and pen and ink. But it was when she was at these schools that she picked up her signature style of working with oil.

When asked how long she sees herself painting, Mason didn’t hesitate.

“For the rest of my life,” she said. “It’s very uplifting and it’s just a joy. My intention as an artist is to just inspire the person looking at my art and for them to be filled with a sense of awe and of something greater. I just want to capture a moment of God’s creation.”

Linda Mason can be contacted through her website: Masonart.net