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Alden Mason was a prominent Northwest painter, who studied and taught at the University of Washington. This exuberant color abstraction is part of the artist’s Burpee Garden series, based on his fond recollections of Burpee seed catalogs from his childhood. The artist used thin washes of oil paint diluted with turpentine to create bold watercolor-like strokes. The brilliant coloring and expansive scale of these paintings redirected Northwest art away from the subtle, muted palette traditionally associated with the region since the early 1950s. Though the fumes from the oil paint and turpentine forced Mason to abandon this series, it inspired his exploration of acrylic paint using squeeze bottles as an extension of his arm (see Yellow Bird level 3).
A gift from R. C. Hedreen
Washington State Convention Center Art Foundation Collection