Mason takes photos of subjects that inspire her and recreates the photographs in her paintings. She said she draws most of her inspiration from nature.[/caption]

Local artist Barbara Mason studies magnolias in her garden; she watches how the bud opens, how the petals fall to the ground and the intricacies of the natural colors.

“I try to look for the beauty in the small details,” Mason said. “I learn everything I can about the magnolia, and it’s almost like I have a relationship with the flower.”

Mason has lived in Frisco for nine years, and she has been working to help cultivate the Frisco art community.

Mason is a juried member of the Visual Arts Guild of Frisco, and she helps host studio and house tours in which local artists open up their studios and homes to showcase their art.

In her home studio, Mason’s artwork—ranging from paintings and sketches to sculptures—is displayed everywhere. Her paintings feature realism within nature and life.

Mason also uses dance influences for her paintings. Many of her paintings use realism.[/caption]

Originally from Illinois, Mason said she knew she wanted to be an artist since she was a little girl. She said she used to pick flowers from the side of the road and created her own small art projects with the flowers.

Mason said she was also gifted in math and science and at one point ran a radiology department at a hospital in Illinois.

However she said that she saw that her husband and daughter had their hobbies and she did not.

“Work was done; the house was clean; and I found myself with nothing to do,” she said. “So I decided to revisit my first love and go back to making art.”

After an allergic reaction to oil paints, Mason decided to try watercolors, an art form she was not used to. After a few tries, Mason said she started to get the hang of it, but she wanted more training. So she enrolled in art classes.

At her first art show, Mason won best in show, and with the encouragement of her art teacher, Mason started painting professionally.   

Mason has been working as a professional artist for about 10 years and now gives back to her local art community.

“Whenever I see a young artist just starting out, I like to give them help and guidance because I know what it’s like,” Mason said. “We need to feed this fire to make art because we need to cultivate the next generation of artists.”

Through the arts guild, Mason has also been able to cultivate relationships with business owners to showcase local artists’ work within their businesses.

In 2009, Mason launched N Due Season, a greeting card company that sells and distributes ultrasound recordable greeting cards for expectant mothers and families.

Mason said she still picks flowers on the side of the road to find her next inspiration.

“For me when I see a flower or I go outside and I pick it up, I’m not that 53-year-old artist; I’m that kid on her way home filled with joy,” Mason said.