During all this time Roy continued to paint, first only on weekends, and then, as the family business permitted, for longer periods. Gradually he withdrew from the shop altogether, and for the past thirty years, he has worked independently as a painter, except for his continued hunting and fishing expeditions. But even on these, the palette often takes over while the shotgun cools off!

Except for a rich friendship with the painter, Chauncey Ryder who gave him the only professional instruction he ever had -- and this was limited to a few lessons, though the two artists often went on painting trips together -- Roy developed his art by himself. In the best tradition, he first taught himself to see, then to draw with accuracy and assurance, and then to paint. He worked in oil for years before beginning his work in watercolor, and his first public recognition and early honors, including his election to the Academy, were for his essays in the heavier medium. Gradually watercolor claimed his greater affection until today it has become his major, if not exclusive, technique.

It has been my privilege to paint with Roy Mason on numerous occasions, mostly in the vicinity of Batavia. More often than not I have found easy excuse to leave my own work and stand at a respectable distance where I could watch this man transform raw nature into a composed, not imitative, painting. What I have observed time and time again is a process of integration, integration that begins as abstract design and gradually takes on recognizable form; color patterns that are made to weave throughout the whole composition; and that over all, amazing control of large washes which is the Mason stylemark. Finally come those little flicks of a rigger brush and the job is done. Inspiring -- yes; instructive -- maybe; duplicable -- no!