Desmond Mason: An Artist

Desmond Mason is courting a passion for art
Oklahoma City Thunder player Desmond Mason paints abstract work from the inside

BY DAVID ZIZZO
Published: April 5, 2009


After a grueling road trip in his regular job, basketball player Desmond Mason knows how to handle stress: He spreads his emotions on the floor.

"I usually destroy my garage doing it, Mason said.

Its just one way the 6-foot-5 guard/forward for the NBAs Oklahoma City Thunder carries out his other passion — creating works of art. He does most of his paintings on the floor, he said.

Mason, who majored in studio art at Oklahoma State University, wields a pretty mean brush. About 50 of his works were on display at a private sale Saturday to benefit Allied Arts and White Field, an organization that cares for abused and neglected boys.

"To me, abstract art is all about feelings, Mason said. "Its all about past history, things that are going through your mind, how you feel that day.

On a cool evening, for instance, he might listen to B.B. King (he always paints to music), drink a glass of wine and come up with a piece representing the night sky.

"This is shooting stars in space, he said of one work. "It was a mood piece.

It was in junior high school that Mason progressed from the typical doodles of childhood to something more. High school instructors encouraged him, and he began reading about the masters. In college, he studied accounting until he realized that hed never be happy sitting in a cubicle punching numbers.

"I went back to art, he said.

Not that Mason isnt interested in other things. For the nine years hes been crisscrossing the country playing ball, he has made a study of successful people, whether theyre in the oil industry, insurance or whatever, he said. He has started the process of getting a real estate license in Oregon.

Hes even considered buying a McDonalds restaurant. To get a franchise, you have to train at one, so Mason went to a friend in Milwaukee who owns 30 of the restaurants and strapped on an apron for a weekend. He worked the drive-through, the "assembly line and helped clean up.

"I dont know if I ever want to own one, he said. "Ive just kind of laid the foundation for that.

The artwork is something else. It comes from inside. Mason loves the release it offers, the sense of expression. But when it comes to his art, he doesnt like the idea of deadlines or pressure, a standard that has cost him at least one professional commission.

"Art is always going to be a part of me, he said. "I just dont want to make it a job.

If he wanted to, Mason probably could. Mason said when an art critic visited one of his shows in Milwaukee, he told the reviewer to "be brutally honest and not let his work slide by "just because I play for the Bucks. He gave me a good review on the art because he loved it.

So, apparently, do many others. Mason said people who saw his art in other cities call him about seeing his new works. Many art fans fly in from other states for his shows.

"Theyve accepted my artwork, he said.

So have others who create art, he said. And thats a source of some of Masons greatest satisfaction.

"In the art community, Im accepted as an artist, he said. "Im not just accepted as an artist who plays basketball. Ive been accepted as an artist just as much as a basketball player.

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[penntaker]

Miss you playing in the nba DMase.

[nineblackkasabian]

nice shirt

[AlipioPilipino]

hahaha!!