About Rochelle Mason, Artist
My mother taught me the most valuable lesson about animals when I was young: respect them and learn from them. I remember this clearly because it happened while I was dealing with a spider. That early lesson profoundly shaped both my life and my art.
After building a career painting companion animals in the 1980s, I turned my attention toward raising awareness about endangered species - particularly those that are overlooked or underappreciated. I wrote and illustrated the weekly column Focus on Nature: Insight into the Lives of Animals, published in various outlets across the United States.
During this time I also created a series of educational art exhibitions, including California's Endangered Species, Hawaii's Endangered Species, and Focus on Nature: Wild Cats of the World. These exhibitions were featured in natural history museums and institutions in the United States and abroad from 1991 to 2013.
My most recent series, Focus on Nature: Beyond Eden, presents the beauty of often-overlooked animals through abstraction, encouraging viewers to reconsider assumptions about species and to move beyond fear and speciesism.
Throughout my career of painting and writing, I have sought to help people discover the beauty, diversity, and importance of all animals, with particular attention to those that are often overlooked or feared.
I donate 10% of sales proceeds to Wildlife Conservation Network, whose mission is to protect endangered wildlife by supporting conservationists who ensure wildlife and people coexist and thrive. Learn more.