Artist Katherine Mason of Texas creates stunning works using lipstick as her medium to pay tribute to those who have battled and overcome breast cancer and to fundraise for related research. Lipstick used to bring her works to life is contributed by those battling breast cancer or losing loved ones to the disease.

In this episode, 

• Katherine Shares her inspirations.
• She shares how & why she started painting with lipsticks.
• She shares her process and how she dries her paintings.
• She shares her dreams, fears, faith and her future projects.
• She has also shared how she is a perfectionist and does everything with perfection.
• She also shared that she works on other mediums along with her lipstick project.
• She also shares why she keeps switching between one medium and the other.

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AUTOMATED TRANSCRIPTS

00:00.80
Katherine Mason
Hi How are you I’m good. Thank you.

00:01.15
charukaarora
Hello Katie ah I’m good. How are you? Okay, you you look be more professional than me right now.

00:12.75
Katherine Mason
Well thank you, you had mentioned to get headphones and a mic and I’m so Ocd and I’m such a perfectionist and I was like done that is my homework for the day so I went out searching but.

00:25.50
charukaarora
Yeah I mean honestly, you were the first person who was like um who was very like you know. Okay, this is what I need to do you let me know and I was like I was like you know we can do something we can figure it out and when I saw you with everything I was like oh my god it felt like. I was like did I made you do this.

00:43.85
Katherine Mason
No absolutely not. It’s funny. My my friends and family always joke because I have a very hard time spending money on myself. But I love buying things for work. So the fact that I could like buy cool gear for work I’m like I love it.

00:55.64
charukaarora
Oh oh oh my God I am exactly the same and now I realize that I need to set some some sort of boundary in that context because.

01:03.30
Katherine Mason
Yeah.

01:11.82
charukaarora
So I I recently wanted to like buy a camera and then I was like oh because I want to buy a camera. Let me just buy some mics and because I wanted to update my um I wanted to update my podcast setup and I wanted to have some free mics for videos and everything and I was like you know. Just so I’m buying a mic like me also buy a video mic and I was like now that I’m taking a video bike. Let me also have a cable now have this huge kit that is so was time consuming and so hard to use that I haven’t really put that time into it.

01:36.66
Katherine Mason
Oh yeah.

01:44.60
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah.

01:46.86
charukaarora
But I I’m I’m this person who always gets like if I have something in mind about work I get so invested into it I’m like well I’m going to get the best thing and most of the time it doesn’t work so much in my favor.

01:55.95
Katherine Mason
Absolutely yeah, but yeah, that was me earlier I mean I bought all this stuff and um I had my boyfriend call me so I could listen to the audio and get feedback from the other side. He was like you sound terrible I was like gosh dang it. He’s like you sound so far away and he’s like and it sounds all muffled like all white noise I’m like shit like I bought this 2 big clear audio you know, but it’s doing the total opposite. So I’m glad.

02:26.80
charukaarora
Um, but is doing a job great now. It is It is now that we’ll see I Hopefully like we’ll see hear more of you on your podcast soon now that you’re ready. Yeah.

02:29.64
Katherine Mason
Okay, good I’m glad it’s working now.

02:36.67
Katherine Mason
Right? Yes I know now now I have to.

02:43.00
charukaarora
You have to just like I Also do you think like that like I also have this tendency like a lot of timess and I buy something especially for work I feel guilty if I’m not using and then I cook up projects and thinks the way I should justify the cost I spent because.

02:49.58
Katherine Mason
Okay.

02:59.80
Katherine Mason
Yep, a hundred percent yeah a hundred percent I’m I think as creatives. We’re all like multi-passionate ah to a certain extent. So for me the idea of all these different types of.

03:00.58
charukaarora
I mean I I have sleepless nights otherwise.

03:14.72
Katherine Mason
Creative endeavors no matter what they are I’m like oh I want to do this now I want to do that you know I mean I I got really into and I still am I was into it a while ago. Um, looking at stained glass like a lot of stained glass artists on Instagram. And you know staying glass is known as like kind of like an old tiny grandma thing. You know it’s like in the Grandma’s house on the windows and but there are these young stained glass artists that are doing these really cool staining glass like ornaments and windows and stuff and. Had to slow myself down because I’m like I’m gonna buy a stained glass set I’m gonna teach myself how to do stained glass and I’m like oh my god focus like just do your arch.

04:00.29
charukaarora
Ah, oh you know what? like but did you did you always name that you were like a multi-passionate person as a creator did you always recognize and accepted that fact, so.

04:11.40
Katherine Mason
Um, yes I don’t think I I registered it as being multi-pasate I think when I first started my art career I was I loved experimenting and doing a little bit of everything experimenting with different. Styles different mediums different. You know, working with on different materials and just always playing around and seeing what I could come up with um and you know the the Instagram account I have for my lipstick paintings is separate from I have another Instagram account of all of my other work.

04:46.42
charukaarora
Wow This news to me I know you as a lipstick girl.

04:47.43
Katherine Mason
And yeah, it’s yes, it’s quite I know I want to be branded with my lipstick work moving forward. Um, but I do have like a long history of all these other creative projects I’ve done and.

05:03.30
charukaarora
And yeah I I was wondering that I was actually wondering that when I was seeing your video um which is which something I Really like I love that video actually where you spoke about your work and everything and I was wondering that where is the rest of the work.

05:12.10
Katherine Mason
Thank you.

05:19.57
charukaarora
And I was like maybe you decided not to you know, put it up or something like that because your website also didn’t show that. So.

05:24.90
Katherine Mason
Yeah, yeah, it’s it’s on a different Instagram page I knew when I wanted to go full time with my lipstick paintings that I needed to separate them because they were. They were so different from what I was doing. Um. Kind of my custom work and you know little individual paintings and projects here and there that I would get into and so I separated them for social media reasons. But I remember when I was working on my older work. Um not including elliptic paintings I always ah, kind of. Similar to you I I was always nervous about getting stuck with 1 thing and I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself because I’ve heard of a lot of stories where other artists. You know they only do like paintings of cows and barns and things like that. And they build this client tell around it and they build their audience but then they they get stuck doing that and sometimes they’re like I want to paint a sailboat but now you know I have this whole branding around barns and cows and pigs and all this stuff. So I always knew I didn’t want to get stuck.

06:23.80
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

06:34.82
Katherine Mason
Doing anything unless I’ve really loved it and I really wanted to you know grow it and and push forward. But um, so now I go back and forth.

06:37.71
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah, and I think um like I think also just I don’t know if that makes sense because for me even though when I look back in retrospect. My expectations of things haven’t really changed like um, it’s evolved I think there’s a huge difference between evolution and change my subject matter has for years been women. Um like you know, a lot of things like that. But just I mean.

07:00.65
Katherine Mason
I have.

07:11.42
charukaarora
I needed that mental safety in my mind that if there was day I didn’t want to do this any longer I just needed to know that that was okay like you know, even though I haven’t really done anything except that like my subject matter particularly has been the same. Do you feel that.

07:18.52
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah.

07:29.76
Katherine Mason
Yeah, um, yeah I mean I’ve thought about especially with my lipstick work what it would be like if one day I get tired of lipstick and I don’t want to work with anymore and then how do I.

07:30.34
charukaarora
Like for yourself and.

07:41.57
charukaarora
Yes, yes.

07:45.78
Katherine Mason
How do I continue to change and and adjust from there. Um, luckily I haven’t gotten to that point yet I think with lipstick. It’s so new and I almost feel like I’m in. Floor and like a pioneer with this new medium because it’s Constant. You know trial and error and experimenting and seeing what works and what doesn’t work and so it’s been very exciting and stimulating and I haven’t gone bored yet which is great. Um.

08:04.72
charukaarora
And absolutely yeah.

08:17.20
charukaarora
Um, yeah.

08:22.22
Katherine Mason
But you know I think I’m I’m trying to get myself to a place where I’m an artist but it’s not all that I am and at some point if I want to end my art career I’m allowed to do so and go do something else. You know I do I.

08:31.40
charukaarora
Um, oh yeah.

08:35.10
charukaarora
Um, oh Wow. Do you think about that.

08:41.64
Katherine Mason
I I more so think about it in like in a sense of like. For example, if something were to ever happen to me physically and I couldn’t paint anymore I couldn’t draw like I have to be okay with who I am as a person without.

08:52.75
charukaarora
Um, couldn’t do it? Um, yeah.

08:58.89
Katherine Mason
Having the ability to come to the studio paint every day and like continue this lifestyle because I know it could happen to anybody and so I think that’s I don’t think about it a lot but it’s always in the back of my mind.

09:05.71
charukaarora
Yeah I Love this? Yeah I Love your honesty about this because I think this is something I have I I think I have asked this question to myself so many times and that’s I think that’s when I got my answer and.

09:19.47
Katherine Mason
And then.

09:24.11
charukaarora
Thankfully I mean I just felt like I think I gave my myself an answer that I wasn’t even prepared for but was something that really triggered like meant to true to me like I keep kept an ah and even today I keep on asking myself like um.

09:37.32
Katherine Mason
I’ve known.

09:42.60
charukaarora
Is It? Okay, like if if one day I feel I don’t want to make anything um will I be okay and I kept on getting this answer to myself that I can I can see myself if there is a day where I’m not able to make something. Create something in the sense of a painting or like you know stuff like that. But I couldn’t see myself and I’ve always imagined like what just the way you said like I’ve always thought of this idea so many times so many times that but if something happens to me and I’m like.

10:03.71
Katherine Mason
Um, and then.

10:15.90
charukaarora
I I figured that I am such an impulsive creator more than an artist like for me like even with our 2 hearts or with my own practice or even if I’m sitting me even if I’m like laying a plate or if I’m doing a house or if I’m like I I felt I felt like I associated my identity. More as a creator than just as an artist and just the I’m just knowing that I will be okay if I don’t paint because you know if something happens but I know that as long as I have my mind that is going to be my like like also like telling myself stories.

10:35.71
Katherine Mason
And.

10:54.31
charukaarora
Ah, do you tell yourself stories in your head.

10:55.30
Katherine Mason
Oh yeah, all the time all the time like it’s yeah absolutely and I don’t know if that’s like part of just being a creative like your mind’s always going and it’s literally creating like stories and circumstances and different.

11:08.80
charukaarora
Um, yeah stories.

11:12.98
Katherine Mason
Things that could happen. Um, but yes, absolutely I Tell myself stories.

11:19.73
charukaarora
What what I have also I need to ask you about is I know your work is um, it like you know your inspiration started and your story with the lipstick paint started with the breast Scan so friend and you’ve been impacted with that.

11:34.29
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah.

11:37.25
charukaarora
And that’s how I think beginninging of your work I lost my mom recently in the past bi a half here. It changed me drastically and I think this led to me this this question because when after after her it was very hard for me to get back to my practice and like you know, um.

11:56.50
charukaarora
Also I became more like free the sense that I was like you know when you lose something your fear of losing every like so precious view fear of losing anything else gets like you know if I went through this and you will go to anything else. How has um, this.

12:00.44
Katherine Mason
Right.

12:13.60
Katherine Mason
Yeah, um.

12:15.73
charukaarora
I’m sure your painting you especially? you’re a woman your subject matter is something that impacts so many women. Um, Also I Love this painting. That’s also behind you like that also has like this contrast with breast cancer. The feminity of Um. Of the material that like lips takes and that the power and the strength does working with this subject. How does that impact you as an artist as a person as a woman like.

12:32.33
Katherine Mason
Right.

12:42.90
Katherine Mason
Oh gosh. Um, well first of all I’m I’m so sorry to hear about your mother I didn’t know that um I can’t I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you since then we lost a good friend of ours back in October and I know it’s hard to.

12:50.27
charukaarora
Thank you.

13:00.00
Katherine Mason
Get yourself back into the swing of things especially work. You know and creative work because it’s almost like you’re just numb and there’s no it takes a while for that joy to start to come back? Um, so definitely give.

13:03.24
charukaarora
I yen.

13:10.33
charukaarora
Yeah, but also I think but also I think it also at at least for me, it triggered that like it triggered that feeling like you know these questions that we we just spoke about like that we keep asking us out like.

13:24.53
Katherine Mason
Um, and um.

13:28.57
charukaarora
But if something happens to me to tomorrow but I and something did happen. It just didn’t happen to me but it happened to someone very close to many it did impact me in a lot of ways and I figured like in ah you know in a lot of capacity those fears I I really saw those fears very closely.

13:28.60
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, yeah.

13:40.80
Katherine Mason
Um, ever.

13:48.20
charukaarora
So when you see something so closely you know and you get through like you know you keep going forward. You’re like if I can get through this and mostly I can get through a lot of things I know your friend’s story. Um I just and to seeing I Really want to know like you’re working on such a sensitive matter which is.

13:48.18
Katherine Mason
Um, and.

13:56.20
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, um.

14:08.16
charukaarora
Which impacts people close to you. You listen does that bring in still does that bring more freedom or does sudden still more fear of how does that make you feel.

14:21.50
Katherine Mason
Um, I’d say it’s a little bit of everything. Ah, the fact that all the lipstick that I use is donated to me and they’re donated mostly in honor or in memory of different women and a lot of times people will gather and send me. Their actual lipstick tube. So It’s like I get a piece of these women and a piece of their spirit. You know, um and like you said like you come up with stories every time I get a package and I look at all these lipsticks you know.

14:39.75
charukaarora
So yeah, which is very quiet.

14:52.79
Katherine Mason
Especially the ones that are used. You can open them up and see the imprint of where they would put them on in the shape of their lip and I would think like was this a lipstick that a woman wore to her daughter’s wedding or her son’s graduation or did she wear it on like.

14:55.33
charukaarora
We were.

15:09.90
Katherine Mason
And night out with friends like I always think about where these lipsticks came from and the lives that they live before I ever had the privilege of getting them. Um, painting with them is such a privilege it and it is probably 1 of the greatest honors of my life that. People have entrusted these tubes with me. Um, and I think more than anything. It’s become a huge source of motivation and inspiration because there are days where you know. Painting for hours and hours at a time can be exhausting day after day. So a lot of the times I don’t yeah you know it’s draining and a lot of the times I don’t want to come to the studio I think about those women and I’m like I have the privilege of driving to my studio.

15:48.44
charukaarora
Absolutely.

16:02.65
Katherine Mason
I Have a healthy body I have a sound mind I get to come and do what I love for a living and I get to build something that honors a community of women that are so deserving and like you said if one day I’m not here I want.

16:09.90
charukaarora
Long.

16:17.59
Katherine Mason
My work and my message and the way that I was able to hopefully serve this community to be what people remember me by I I Want that to be the focus over anything else. Um, So it’s yeah I mean it’s been incredibly special and there’s all sorts of emotions that I get you know I have. A lot of women that come into my studio for events they learn about the work and they see the paintings and a lot of I mean there have been lots of tears shed in my studio and you know yeah made lots of friends and given out lots of hugs and to me it’s that human connection and.

16:45.50
charukaarora
Yes, absolutely I’m sure.

16:56.35
Katherine Mason
That relationship with a stranger that like I don’t know what you’re going through but like you’re loved and you’re supported and like life is hard for everyone at different times and for different reasons but you know we’re all in it together. Um, so yeah.

17:08.11
charukaarora
Yeah.

17:15.10
Katherine Mason
Definitely very motivating very inspiring. Um, and then you know on the flip side for me I’m learning a lot about the breast Cancer Community and I’ve partnered with the national breast cancer foundation. So working with them and learning from them has been so impactful and.

17:21.50
charukaarora
Yeah.

17:34.44
Katherine Mason
Even for my own health. You know I’ve learned so much about you know, doing self exams and staying up to date with your mammograms and all these things. So I think it’s nice and I’m also being educated on the back end and I get to be a student again.

17:35.21
charukaarora
Yes, absolutely.

17:47.90
charukaarora
I I loved that I think yeah I think um things like that like the impact us subconsciously feels that it hasn’t but it impacts us in way then we can put in but tell me something how how did you come up? what brought you to.

18:02.25
Katherine Mason
Um, over.

18:07.77
charukaarora
Breast Cancer is a subject matter was it like a personal experience for like how did it all began I Know your friend’s story but was it after that with that tell us more about that.

18:19.63
Katherine Mason
Yeah, so um I I actually started my very first lipstick painting back in 2014 so it it was a while ago I had to take a break after my first one and work on doing custom work and. You know, financial reasons building my career all that stuff so there was ah there was a big break there. Um, but the reason that I went into lipstick was because we had a like us at that time I was wanting to start a new series and I was wanting to challenge myself with a new medium. You know I’d seen people that painted with like coffee or chocolate or you know something different and I was like oh that’d be a cool way to challenge myself and um within a couple months time we had a lot of good family friends that were diagnosed with breast cancer and I just felt like god was drawing me towards. That as being something charitable that I could get behind and that way my work could have a lot more meaning and and be a lot more impactful and I sat down with a family friend of mine because obviously I don’t know anything about breast cancer personally and thank god. Um, no one in my immediate family or extended family has ever had breast cancer so sat down with our family friend and I was trying to just kind of get some research done and and learn more about what she was going through and I said you know what What’s the hardest thing for you and said well.

19:54.74
Katherine Mason
I Really struggled with feeling beautiful and feeling like a woman and she said there is a lot of physical side effects obviously to chemo and radiation and she’s like you know everyone knows that your hair falls out that there are a lot of other physical side effects like you know your skin changes color your nail beds. Don’t go grow in right? Your eyelashes will fall out and she just didn’t feel beautiful. She didn’t feel empowered and her doctor was telling her you have to find something that brings you hope and brings you joy because your mindset and and the way that you’re thinking is. So powerful with how it correlates to your body and you know anything you can do to make yourself feel better will have an impact on the treatment and so she would actually start she started putting on lipstick before all of her cuma treatments and that was her way of feeling beautiful again feeling like a woman again. Um, kind of her way of taking control of the situation and saying you know I got this and it just so happened that by putting the lipstick on she felt more positive. She was in a better head space and then her body started responding better to treatment and. I Thought it was so interesting that lipstick could you know make such a big difference and obviously from an artist standpoint I’m thinking as Oenium. It’s similar. You know to an oil pastel or.

21:17.91
charukaarora
I Mean that’s not even like a medium like a lot of people have considered like like it’s it’s it’s something that’s unchartered.

21:24.17
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, but right I know it I think so I’ve through my research I’ve only found one other artist that has used lipstick Um, but she used it in a. An Elizabethm application and she would put it on her lips and kiss a canvas and make an image out of it. Um, gosh I I wish I remembered her name because I’d love to give her credit for that. But yeah, her work was beautiful but I was like I could never like my lips would fall off like I just could not kiss.

21:45.39
charukaarora
Oh wow.

22:00.69
Katherine Mason
Ah, can with not many times and so I started experimenting with my lipstick um, different ways of application and I always tell people like my first couple like sketches and things were so ugly they were so awful. I had no idea what I was doing I did not know how to control it yet and you know just slowly started to progress. My mom was told me you know I have some extra lipsticks you can use so she gave me some extra lipsticks of hers I had some friends give me some of theirs. And that’s how I organically became or began this donation process and that in my opinion has been my favorite part of the entire series and I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say you need to get sponsored by a makeup brand. You need to get sponsored by a big company and that can give you all this. Exposureure and give you all the lipstick and I’m like yeah but then like that would be awesome, but at the same time then you lose that personal touch like I want to paint with lipsticks from actual women. You know these tubes.

23:04.90
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah, yeah, quite a bland you know what? But that’s actually a great idea I mean um imagine the lipstick that you can connect can collect.

23:18.85
Katherine Mason
Um, right? yeah.

23:21.38
charukaarora
Why your brand I mean you could still have the same message but you just have a bigger agent to collect something like that for you, you should make that happen.

23:29.85
Katherine Mason
Right? Yeah,, That’s a good point. Um, and at some point I’d love yeah I’d love to collaborate with the big brand and do something for for them. Specifically you know a custom painting and you know out of their lipsticks for their headquarters or whatever the case is. Um, but I just love getting packages and and I mean the notes and the letters and these packages so they’ll gather. Yeah, they’ll gather lipsticks and send them to me I I get.

23:50.28
charukaarora
Over So like people ran randomly send you really.

24:03.13
Katherine Mason
A lot of letters from them. Some of them are just from people who love what I’m doing and they they love the idea of recycling and they don’t want to throw their lipsticks away other people you know have gone through breast cancer themselves and they want to donate their lipstick and 1 gentleman who. Was finally going through his wife’s belongings and his wife had passed from breast cancer and yeah and that one to me was so special I actually knew her son from high school I never had the pleasure of meeting her but I knew her son and.

24:26.48
charukaarora
I Remember seeing that letter in your video.

24:38.96
charukaarora
You.

24:42.26
Katherine Mason
You know wonder use a wonderful kid and so I you know only speaks volumes to the mother that I’m sure she was um.

24:51.28
charukaarora
I think the moment I saw your video and also personally seeing um, relating to the situation because of my mom 1 thing that came to my mind was like it’s not only something that you’ve been making as an artist. It’s also such a great way like. Someone like me I mean I felt like why are that I have held on to things of her that I don’t want to let go that I know maybe at some point will you know are perishable and may not sustain or like you know things like that are sometimes like.

25:23.95
Katherine Mason
In.

25:27.54
charukaarora
Close 1 out and like um, not everything last like I think that is why also my own work personally started becoming a lot about heirlooms and like I I come from a culture of India where um and I think not only India but in a lot of pieces where you know. Pieces of Helums like you know jewelry that sort of survives for generations like people hold onto that like something like what I’m wearing right now this is this is a memory for um, for me of her and I thank you and when I saw your.

26:01.79
Katherine Mason
Um, it’s beautiful.

26:05.63
charukaarora
You know work and I especially when I saw your video I was like I would love I mean I would love to not only her lipstick if someone would tell me like you know if there’s a way I can I Can you know store this um in a long lasting like I know that who she is. It’s converted into another like you know a painting or something and that is like a memory of her that I can hold on to forever like I think that’s a beautiful gift like not only but I think it’s a priceless gift.

26:26.48
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, right.

26:38.89
Katherine Mason
Thank you? Yeah I mean there’s I have so many ideas of different ways I want to take this and like you said offering custom pieces for people that are more of a remembrance painting. Um I’m still trying to kind of. Figure out the logistics of that because my lipstick paintings they all have to go through a very extensive drawing process. Um, it’s one of the reasons why? Yeah yeah.

27:01.96
charukaarora
Oh Wow Really I do I really needed to ask you how how do you protect it? How do you seeate? How do give me like how do you even get these effects like you don’t have like a like you don’t how how how do like because you’re painting. The moment when we started our conversation I figured you’re a perfectionist and I was looking at at that painting on the bag and I was like hell you are like yes yes you are because I mean I can’t believe like you know when I’m looking at this.

27:25.81
Katherine Mason
Ah, yeah.

27:32.64
Katherine Mason
Ah self I.

27:36.77
charukaarora
It looks like a pencil render like you know there are these pencil renders that will look very real like it looks like that to me and to like for anyone to believe it’s come out of a lipstick. It’s just too good.

27:41.22
Katherine Mason
Um, and yeah, thank you? Yeah yeah, thank you so much. Um I have to be very transparent like I said before. Didn’t look like this when I started. It’s been a massive learning curve. It’s been exciting but it’s been a lot of work and I would say the 1 thing well 2 things it’s it’s a very extensive drawing process I said I’ll get into further but. Lipstick is super delicate and the thing that I have learned with it excuse me is patience which I am.

28:30.71
charukaarora
Oh absolutely.

28:35.95
Katherine Mason
I’m teaching myself to get better at and I I almost like the challenge because I think I’ve noticed over the last couple years I like to lean into really hard things because I feel like it shapes me as a person way faster than comfort and.

28:49.59
charukaarora
I Oh my God I’m relating to you on so many lovers. Yeah.

28:54.29
Katherine Mason
We Got this. We’re very good and but lipstick is so delicate So I have to be very patient with the way that I apply it and it has to be very light touches almost to the point where it’s just like tap tap tap tap tap like. Barely You know the bristles of my paint brushes are barely blending it because if you push too hard. It’ll just scrape away what you have already laid down. Um, So yeah I mean I’ve I’ve learned a variety of techniques tricks.

29:20.84
charukaarora
Oh wow.

29:31.70
Katherine Mason
Different processes and things like that processes of laying the lipstick down as well as processes of lifting it back up and getting some highlights coming through. Um the drying is that that to me from the very beginning was. Kind of the number 1 issue that I needed to figure out because obviously for me I want to sell these paintings. That’s that’s the whole point you know and um I need to be able to drive them to the best of my ability and preserve them to the best of my ability for my collectors.

29:57.45
charukaarora
And absolutely yeah.

30:10.90
Katherine Mason
And you know I went through probably a 2 or 3 year research period just trying to find a varnish that worked um I finally found one through the help of a it was actually a man.

30:21.39
charukaarora
Bow.

30:27.32
Katherine Mason
That worked out of Washington that did art restoration and he kind of gave me advice just based on the chemistry of lipstick because I was really struggling because I was really struggling with a lot of the store bot stuff. It would just lay on top.

30:34.70
charukaarora
Oh wow, Yeah, that includes a lot of that. Yes, absolutely.

30:45.95
Katherine Mason
Because lipstick has a lot of wax in it. It wouldn’t Set. It would just get sticky. So Obviously I couldn’t use that. But yeah I Finally found something that worked I have a lot of people ask me like what is it and I’m like I can’t tell you that’s like my secret. Like that’s all I got the whole I’m like listen if you do your research, you could probably figure it out but like I ran that race for too long I Just give it out. Um, yeah, and then.

31:14.13
charukaarora
And that’s honest and I think that makes sense. Absolutely I mean you you got to do some some effort if you really want to figure it out. Yeah.

31:23.99
Katherine Mason
Right? right? Um, and you know I and then obviously the issue of framing so I with the with my drawing process I can only get them about 85% dry so then I actually have to.

31:31.13
charukaarora
But.

31:38.17
charukaarora
Wow.

31:40.93
Katherine Mason
Yeah, so I work with a framer here in Houston called unique arts of Houston a wonderful company and we work together and basically built out a custom framing process where it’s like a couple of different frame parts. Put together and it pinches museum glass in between it and but that it’s still breathable on the back end because I learned that with a cotton canvas. You can’t fully enclose it because it needs access to oxygen or else. It’ll start to rot over time and degrade.

32:13.96
charukaarora
Yeah I mean Pe off or maybe like crackup or like you know things like that that we really don’t think about in because everything is started with traditional mediums but like.

32:18.23
Katherine Mason
Which I didn’t know yep right? Yeah and all these unknowns and um.

32:29.47
charukaarora
When you’re experimenting you have all these things to take care of.

32:35.54
Katherine Mason
I always knew I wanted it to be behind glass. Um I use museum glass because it is anti-reflectant and it was very important for me to allow my viewers to get as close to the painting as they want and not be distracted by their reflection. Um, so yeah, the. Framing process took probably another year and a half obviously a lot of financial investment but we finally got a framing process figured out and because of the glass. It’s uv protected. So the paintings are protected by dust debris sunlight all that kind of stuff. Um.

33:09.61
charukaarora
It now because it’ll against if it’s half dry. It’s still like wet then it’s still going to attract all of those things.

33:16.52
Katherine Mason
Yeah, so there once I get them framed. They’re fully protected obviously to the best of my ability. You know you could always break it when you’re trying to hang it up in your house. You know I can only do so much. And then my hands are clean, but.

33:34.88
charukaarora
Ah, love this like you know I asked this um one of my favorite artists who was also on the podcast I’ve also been asked this question a couple of times because I use um embellishments on my paintings which are basically embroid dued embroiding materials. Um.

33:41.88
Katherine Mason
Um, and um.

33:49.56
charukaarora
That you know that embellishments on surface embroideties in like textiles and someone asks me like you know what do you do? Um, if something falls off and you know you sell a painting or something and something falls off I’m like if it falls out if it falls off even though like I try to.

33:54.27
Katherine Mason
Um, and.

34:02.66
Katherine Mason
Right.

34:09.32
charukaarora
Like like you I have done so much of resource when it comes to sticking things like you know, even with embroiding materials because India’s you know, original craft is um, embroidery and then we have so many versions of traditional glues that.

34:12.55
Katherine Mason
And.

34:19.52
Katherine Mason
Right. And.

34:24.75
charukaarora
People really don’t know about and like I didn’t know before like I went into it and I’m like I can do all that I’m doing all that and I’m evolving and learning and all of that. But you know what if it if it may fall down I can stick it always stick it back for you or at what I do now is I send my.

34:36.93
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, yeah.

34:44.61
charukaarora
Like a collector like a mix of some embellishments like just like you know when you get a piece of cloth like you get a short and yeah, yeah, just in case it follows off like there’s nothing guaranteed and I remember asking that themer and she’s like um South Asian She’s a really popular one of my favorite rim artist.

34:51.77
Katherine Mason
Um, that comes with the buttons. Yeah.

35:03.62
charukaarora
And she makes these like very delicate watercolors um inside embroidery hoops and they’re very delicate beautiful works and small and like um paper on embroidery hoop that means like it’s very delicate I’m like do you get asked this like.

35:06.28
Katherine Mason
And witness.

35:18.82
Katherine Mason
Rank.

35:22.87
charukaarora
It’s not framed. It’s very delicate to people ask like how do they take care of it. Um, and she’s like you have to be careful if it’s if you can’t be careful then probably it’s not for you and like you know how much like I feel like so many times it you feel pressurized with these things. But.

35:34.12
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah.

35:40.86
charukaarora
If we approach it as as as humanly I think as possible like we we can only do so much and another quote I think is really we just doing a round of pro emotion with Aie um aie k design. Um, she’s a murallist and she’s very popular. She’s done bobs. She.

35:46.81
Katherine Mason
Absolutely.

36:00.64
charukaarora
That one of her best advice she received from her father apparently which was if it’s too perfect then it’s probably not handmade like then why would it be handmaed then it would be made in China and I love that advice like the human parts. Yes, yes, yes, like someone.

36:09.88
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, exactly yeah you want to see the human touch. Absolutely yeah.

36:20.11
charukaarora
Like there will be errors and even though when I cannot see it in the larger scale of things. Maybe we will see those things because that’s why a human made it and it’s It’s one of a kind. It’s not mass reduced. It is not mass made.

36:30.70
Katherine Mason
Right? Yeah I completely agree and I have a um I guess not a controversial stance on preservation but I have a counterculture.

36:48.48
Katherine Mason
Chance on it I Obviously I’m gonna preserve my paintings to the very best of my ability I I will spend years researching I will put all of my money towards investing to the best materials. Best framing best class. Whatever I can do. But.

37:04.19
charukaarora
That is it.

37:08.57
Katherine Mason
That’s the thing and I have especially with lipstick I have a lot of people that are like is it going to last and I have a hard time with that question because I want it to last for my collectors but I don’t want my paintings to last for hundreds and hundreds of years I don’t want that. I Think there’s so much value in having a shelf life and having a time frame where a collector that buys an original painting of mine from me. They get to experience the painting as it’s meant to be experienced. That’s what they paid for that experience will change over time for everyone that sees it and that’s I mean that’s any art right? like art restorations have been around forever because art ages and time touches. Everything. But.

38:03.94
charukaarora
I I love that sentence.

38:04.39
Katherine Mason
I Think the thing with me especially with these yeah with and with these lipstick paintings I’m like listen these paintings represent women who lived a wonderful life and a lot of them are not here anymore.

38:18.32
charukaarora
And yeah, yeah, on yeah yeah, yeah.

38:18.70
Katherine Mason
So I don’t care if the paintings change over time they they are living a life of their own and they are aging just like we’re aging like I think there’s so much beauty in that and our culture nowadays is like anti-aging everything like it’s got to be perfect and it’s got to stay perfect and I’m like.

38:31.27
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

38:37.88
Katherine Mason
The reason why flowers are so beautiful is because you get to experiencing them while they’re blooming and you know they’re going to wilt but you keep buying them because it’s the beauty of experiencing it in that moment and that to me is priceless and so I want my work. You know it sounds bad. But I want it to change over time eventually obviously like not like in a year but I want it? Yeah I want art to have a life.

39:03.90
charukaarora
I I Love that thought I love that thought and I so seck into it like for me Also like I think you know this thought has also come to me a lot of times because a lot of um materials that I use maybe may have a little bit of metal into it or because. I use glue and because a lot of my work has also come from traditional. Um you know learnings and from my own culture. So The glue also I use. It’s It’s not like a mass product like a brand or something.

39:35.45
Katherine Mason
And then.

39:37.72
charukaarora
It’s basicallyally something that’s been produced by local artisons in my own city that when I was researching and I found out and they were like you know this is something that we’ve been making for years and this is what works and you should um, you should use this and ever since I’ve been using that and. Seen like you know if I’m using a piece of metal over over the years over the years I know that it’s going to rust or it’s going to have that that vintage feed or like you know that aging of a material that which is meant to happen and honestly I like that because.

40:05.84
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, yeah.

40:15.25
charukaarora
Today for me when I look at legacies and pieces of Helums of my own family if they look exactly how they were looking on day one they probably wouldn’t even tell that story of a time that I’m looking back at like it’s an added leo that actually.

40:28.57
Katherine Mason
Um, right? sorry.

40:35.17
charukaarora
Adds that sense to it.

40:35.65
Katherine Mason
Yeah I completely agree I think especially the fact that it’s glue from where you live in India it’s special. That’s a cultural touch. You know it’s not a material that you can get anywhere and that’s a touch that is. Very specific to the artists that created it. Um and I you know I always tell people I’m like yes I’m the artist that painted these paintings but these paintings like the one behind me I always say was done by 50 different women.

40:54.27
charukaarora
Um, yeah.

41:07.30
charukaarora
I I love that thought and love.

41:08.31
Katherine Mason
Because it wasn’t just me that was involved in it. You know it’s like I can facilitate it and I produce it. But it’s not just through the effort of me. There’s other people exactly.

41:17.58
charukaarora
Yeah, so many more people are included like yeah okay tell me something with your lipstick series. You have 3 3 bodies of work that I saw I love the beginning ones which is I think which is probably my favorite um 3 Ah.

41:27.63
Katherine Mason
Isn’t.

41:32.27
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, um.

41:33.73
charukaarora
Them are very different from each other the first one deals with um, different parts of a woman’s body then this this one is this these boxing gloves that I see are on your screen right now and then there were florals. Can you talk about how these subject matters in your thoughts.

41:38.32
Katherine Mason
Um, right.

41:45.60
Katherine Mason
Are moving.

41:53.10
charukaarora
Behind and like where are you right now and you know your work is navigating towards.

41:59.95
Katherine Mason
Sure, Um, so I started with my body collection. So the nudes were where I began. Um I I Love Anatomy I I actually wanted to be Oh thank you.

42:10.60
charukaarora
You and you’re pretty good at it I think I I love figures I Love a human figure like not human favor I Love women figure I just I don’t know I I Just love it and there is this sense of.

42:18.24
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, yeah.

42:28.62
charukaarora
You know these curves when you see a woman’s curve curvy body and by curves I don’t mean like the sharp like size 0 or whatever that means but like the curve like what that feminine curve we feel like when I saw your work especially that series I really like.

42:32.31
Katherine Mason
Um.

42:35.40
Katherine Mason
Yeah, yeah.

42:46.44
charukaarora
It gave me that same sense like like the curve of the hip or like that that feminity and that boldness and like also like I don’t know I don’t know like how other other women do it. But I think um.

42:49.26
Katherine Mason
Um.

43:04.17
charukaarora
I Personally feel more comfortable when I look at my body than I’m alone and you know when I’m naked and not all like we don’t feel the same way when we’re around people and especially the way people project our bodies onto us and when I saw your paintings I.

43:09.83
Katherine Mason
Right.

43:16.97
Katherine Mason
Yeah, absolutely oh thank you I So as far as like the compositions go.

43:21.60
charukaarora
I Felt the same feeling Actually I said.

43:29.48
Katherine Mason
I tried to focus on other parts of the woman’s body that I thought were beautiful and I tried to steer away from the breasts. Even though it’s about breast cancer. Um, a lot of women obviously get double maectomies and they they just have scars and that’s a very hard.

43:45.32
charukaarora
You? Yea absolutely.

43:48.43
Katherine Mason
Thing for them and they feel like they’re losing a side of their femininity which I guess in a sense they are. It’s you know breasts are very representational of so many things and um, but I wanted to it I wanted my work to be a reminder that there are. So many feminine parts feminine parts about the body. Um, yeah.

44:08.77
charukaarora
I Yeah yeah and I feel like breasts are also one of the most controversial points because I don’t think we all have the same relationship I remember I grew up especially as Indian bodies as Indian women. We are generally heavy. Ah heavy pressed and heavy A good.

44:22.94
Katherine Mason
Another.

44:25.63
charukaarora
But I all my life like until I actually accepted and I’m embraced I was very shy of being heavy pressed and then I know so many people who felt so shy of being flat chested like even though how it’s just the same same thing.

44:31.42
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, and then.

44:39.96
Katherine Mason
Um, we are.

44:43.77
charukaarora
But we experience it so differently I remember I can’t even tell you like believe me when I was like a 12 year old if someone would have asked me like if I would have taken them off believe me I was that like I was that conscious because you know heavy breasts could give attention to people.

44:55.40
Katherine Mason
Yeah, and when.

45:03.00
charukaarora
Um, and you’re like you know you’re you’re adulting and you you don’t understand this how it works and like so it was a hard relationship and then a lot of people had a very opposite relationship. Let’s say to what I experience and yet we you know.

45:07.80
Katherine Mason
Are you.

45:18.27
Katherine Mason
Right? Yeah I think it’s ah you’re right. There is a lot of people who have either a love or a hate relationship with their breast and um, it’s hard because it’s. Whether you love or hate them I think women don’t realize the feeling they go through if they’re not there and almost the sense of now you’re not a woman like and I think it’s also the same of a lot of people who have to get um hysterectomies right? like.

45:41.75
charukaarora
Yeah, absolutely.

45:54.17
Katherine Mason
Feel like they’ve lost a part of their womanhood and I wanted my paintings. Yeah to remind women like your wrist is beautiful. Your neckline is beautiful. Your shoulder is feminine and your hip is feminine like it’s not I think in our culture. It’s like boobs are feminine.

45:57.12
charukaarora
I I know him? yeah.

46:13.94
Katherine Mason
And that’s it. You know it’s almost like they’re overexualized and it’s like no girl like you got a lot of beautiful parts of your body. Um, so yeah I started with the nudes and then I realized that not everybody likes nudes as far as purchasing pieces.

46:16.90
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah.

46:33.63
Katherine Mason
So from a business standpoint I was like okay I need to have a variety of subject matter that way I can kind of you know, grab a different audiences that are all obviously under the same um theme.

46:48.98
Katherine Mason
So Then I went to roses and I think roses are so symbolic of a woman. Um, you have the contrast of ah you know the thorny stem and like they’re strong and they’re fierce. But then you have this beautiful flower that’s delicate and soft and. And vulnerable and I loved that juxtaposition and then like I said about the passage of time you know a rose to me also represents a life and sometimes it’s blooming and sometimes it’s wilting and it’ll grow again and. You know? So. It’s also this idea of of a journey that everyone’s on and we’re all in different phases of that journey and um so the rose had a a lot of different aspects to it that I just loved and obviously you know florals people. Love Laurels. Um. They’re a means for celebration. They’re a means for mourning you know people buy flowers for weddings and funerals and all of the big life moments and um and then third I started my symbolic collection which I wanted. Be pieces that you had to you know, think like how does this tie back like maybe this doesn’t seem as feminine as my other works. But how does that tie back to breast cancer and what does it mean and and all that stuff and I have so many ideas for what I want to do with my symbolic collection I’m just kind of getting started and.

48:23.44
Katherine Mason
You know, unfortunately these paintings take a really long time. So I I want to do so many of them.

48:25.81
charukaarora
So how long does 1 painting take you how long they are huge pieces not available. This one is a big one.

48:33.27
Katherine Mason
Yeah, yeah, so um, this painting behind me is 40 by sixty inches me see if I can tilt this you can see the whole thing. Yes, it goes all the way up there. Thank you? Um, that painting.

48:41.96
charukaarora
Wow Stunning Love it I Love the one on the left. Also gorgeous I Can’t believe you’ve painted this with a baby like lipstick I Still can’t believe that.

48:50.84
Katherine Mason
Oh yeah, and then this is for Flats She’s just chilling. Thank you Sometimes I can’t believe it and it’s funny because my brother is always make fun of me and I have a tendency when I put lipstick on my lips I always go outside the border on accident and they’re like oh they’re like what the hell’s wrong with you like how can you do that. But you can’t get it on your lips.

49:00.76
charukaarora
I Mean yeah.

49:16.29
charukaarora
Um, yeah, he named. Ah.

49:17.27
Katherine Mason
And I’m like I don’t know dude leave me alone. Yeah, um, but yeah that this piece or this painting took me seven months to complete. Um, yeah, and but I will say I have to balance my lipstick work with.

49:28.30
charukaarora
My goodness.

49:36.82
Katherine Mason
Other work I’m doing too so I’m constantly going back and forth. Um, yeah, so if I had the mental capacity to just sit down and do nothing else but lipstick I could probably cut it down to maybe four and a half months

49:39.18
charukaarora
I Yeah that makes sense.

49:54.76
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah.

49:56.80
Katherine Mason
Um, for a four and a half but I think for me creatively and visually I need a change and a lot of times I yeah I’ll go back and forth from my lipstick paintings and then I’ll work on an oil painting that I really want to do.

50:04.42
charukaarora
I agree with that.

50:13.64
Katherine Mason
And you then sometimes just getting that shift in color like working on an oil painting where there’s green and blue and I’m like finally my eyes can see something other than taken red. So um.

50:13.95
charukaarora
Um, Oh yeah, yeah yeah, I definitely get that. Yeah I Love I Do a lot of blacks like with a little bit of color like. I I use you know a lot of color then I’ve transitioned into less and then like and I feel that like sometimes I do get bored and I feel like I want a breath of fresh air. But then my mind is like oh my God my work looks like this and like you know all those things that you keep telling ourselves.

50:41.89
Katherine Mason
Oh yeah.

50:49.74
charukaarora
Then I opened my sketchbook and I’m like here I can do anything and everything I want. Okay.

50:49.77
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, oh yeah, absolutely and I think for me, especially with my lipstick series I have to be doing other work financially. Um.

51:06.13
Katherine Mason
Because these paintings take so long and I’m looking for very specific buyers I need income coming in to support me while I’m working on them. So Obviously I sell prints That’s a. Basically my main source of income for the lipstick paintings other than selling originals which you know doesn’t happen as often as I would like but like I said before I’m I’m going for a very specific collector and so I need to work on sidework.

51:35.15
charukaarora
Um, yeah, yeah.

51:39.28
Katherine Mason
So that I have that money that’s coming in that I can continue to reinvest into this series as much as possible and continue to grow it? Um, so it’s ah a survival thing for me I’m like it’s It’s nice creatively to have a break but I also need I need it.

51:54.74
charukaarora
Yeah, yeah.

51:57.80
Katherine Mason
Like I can’t just stop altogether at some point I would love to have some gallery representation and be focused on just producing originals and selling them. Um, because that that to me is where I can get the biggest amount of money to donate.

52:05.80
charukaarora
Um, yes.

52:16.15
Katherine Mason
I donate 20% of all my sales so when I sell an original thank you I thank you um yeah when I sell an original that’s a big chunk of money I can donate and that’s my goal. That’s my main goal. Um I want to be able to donate as much as possible.

52:17.19
charukaarora
Or what that’s so just kind of you like that’s wonderful. So.

52:29.60
charukaarora
So yeah, makes sense.

52:36.25
Katherine Mason
Right now I have like I have a goal I’d love to donate 50000 a year and I’d love for that to be able to increase over time. Um, but that’s like my goal right now I’m trying to get to so one day.

52:47.76
charukaarora
I I’m sure you will I’m sure you will you will very soon I’m sure it’s just there. It’s been wonderful Catherine I can’t believe it’s been an hour. My dog has been s stnoring all this while I’ve just trying I’m just trying to make sure I’m just sitting I’m just petting her on the head I’m like don’t s snow like don’t snow like.

52:52.76
Katherine Mason
Thank you.

53:04.49
Katherine Mason
Oh I Love laugh. Oh no, she’s cute I couldn’t hear anything so you’re good. Ah.

53:07.26
charukaarora
All my girls I yeah I’m oh you didn’t oh my god wonderful. She’s just so it’s so hot right now because I had to switch off the ac for the noise and everything and like I have 3 of them and 2 of them snowed like ah like a grandpa and like.

53:14.53
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, oh yeah, that’s amazing. What kind of dogs are they.

53:23.58
charukaarora
I’ve just been petting a please don’t store please don’t sno photo why I oh I have 3 rescue rescue like 1 is a labrador 2 of them are mix 1 is a stray that used to live outside my apartment when I was living in Delhi alone.

53:31.38
Katherine Mason
So love almost.

53:39.72
Katherine Mason
Um, and oh yeah.

53:40.26
charukaarora
And then she got hit. She was very old and since then she’s been living with me then she moved to my parents place since then we have three girls and have a big followership wherever I go they leave me with like I have a tale that keeps moving with me and.

53:53.20
Katherine Mason
Yeah, that’s awesome I Love that? Yeah yeah, I bet I couldn’t even imagine how hot is it there? yeah.

53:57.83
charukaarora
They hate the hour when I record because it gets pretty hot.

54:06.10
charukaarora
Um, it’s hot. But um, basically we can’t use any like but while I’m recording I can’t use an easy or something because it makes a little bit of noise. Um like I remember 1 episode when one of my girls like she’s still snoring came.

54:12.81
Katherine Mason
Right.

54:22.20
charukaarora
I had so much as noise in the background that I could hear all house knows so how was like please don’t do this today. Please don’t please don’t do this today I can’t believe ah know.

54:25.32
Katherine Mason
Oh my God Please God Well I didn’t hear any snores So you’re good to go.

54:38.96
charukaarora
But I’m so grateful and now I’m excited for the rapid fire. So are you ready? Okay, so this has to be fast. Give me what comes to your mind fast. There’s no right and wrong. Okay, 1 thing you okay here we go.

54:41.54
Katherine Mason
Um, yes, okay, okay now I’m nervous. Um, okay.

54:56.80
charukaarora
1 thing you want to convey through your work in the arts. 1 thing you want to convey through your work in the arts.

54:59.25
Katherine Mason
1 thing I want what? sorry.

55:05.10
Katherine Mason
Sorry I’m I I know this was be rapid fire I’m having issue with the audio that one more time and am one thing I want to convey is love that is my main focus is I want.

55:09.45
charukaarora
No problem. 1 thing you want to convey through your work in the arts.

55:23.22
Katherine Mason
People to look at my work and feel love for people who are going through hard things.

55:27.89
charukaarora
Lovely. What’s that 1 word that describes you the best.

55:36.70
Katherine Mason
oh gosh um oh gosh I know this was be rapid fire. This is hard for a perfectionist. Um, 1 word that describes me the best. Um I hope that it’s faithful I want.

55:46.85
charukaarora
Um, just give me anything.

55:53.71
Katherine Mason
I Want my faith to be the center of what I’m doing.

55:53.91
charukaarora
Um I love that Oh Wow if you could have a studio anywhere in the world where would it be.

55:59.75
Katherine Mason
Oh girl I It is my dream to have a cottage in the mountains and to have a studio that is like all glass and I can watch the trees change color I can watch this.

56:05.90
charukaarora
Um, oh I Love that you too. Oh wow, That’s that’s like my dream that you’ve just described.

56:16.41
Katherine Mason
Um, fault that to me would be heaven Honor Yeah well we can Yes, we can do it together. Yeah.

56:22.83
charukaarora
I mean I just want animals trees a wooden house. Oh my God Yes, let’s do it. Let’s do it like I still keep telling this to my partner Also like you know I’m going to settle I’m just working like I even shared this message the other day in my stories that I received so many responses.

56:42.28
Katherine Mason
Yeah, yep.

56:42.36
charukaarora
I’m working so hard because one day I want to disappear into the forest live in a cabin and just that that is where like this is why I’m doing this.

56:50.35
Katherine Mason
Absolutely that is my dream live in a cabin have a beautiful studio and I want to have like an animal sanctuary where I can just rescue all different animals that’s like my dream.

56:59.93
charukaarora
Um, oh seeing your I we are going to have such a blast doing this together. But yeah, if you could oh sorry we got this already your biggest source of inspiration.

57:06.94
Katherine Mason
I agree.

57:15.86
Katherine Mason
Um, my biggest source of inspiration is ah God and my faith I Truly believe God is the creator of everything and I find so much beauty in.

57:30.33
Katherine Mason
Smallest details of the world and I’m it’s I’m just overwhelmed by how incredible it all is and that motivates me more than anything.

57:40.25
charukaarora
Ah I love time who’s your botu person when you’re in trouble or in need of advice.

57:47.37
Katherine Mason
Um, I go to for said, um it depends what kind of trouble I’m in so I say either? um well depends depends on whether it’s like now or like couple years ago

57:55.74
charukaarora
Um, are you a lot in trouble.

58:04.97
charukaarora
I.

58:05.52
Katherine Mason
Um, let’s see I would say my definitely my parents very close relationship with both my parents I’ve been incredibly supportive of my career and my cousin my cousin Christina and I have a stupid close relationship and we tell each other.

58:11.54
charukaarora
Oh wow.

58:22.25
charukaarora
Um, oh wow, That’s so nice. So lucky I love that That’s so inspiring. Okay, who’s your favorite woman artist.

58:23.89
Katherine Mason
Everything. So yeah, we’re always phone back and forth.

58:35.40
Katherine Mason
Oh gosh oh god that’s impossible. Um I love Ashley Longshore um yeah I know she’s a she’s a um.

58:39.73
charukaarora
Um, just name any any point of time anyone that tries to your mind. Oh wow.

58:50.20
Katherine Mason
You know, newer artists in our generation and um there yes I agree. Yep yeah I met her at a book signing and here in Houston and I I have never understood.

58:50.38
charukaarora
Um, yeah, she’s a trend setter like she’s like a she’s just she’s a generation settler I think like she’s that.

59:09.97
Katherine Mason
Ever People that are like like groupies and I was a groupy with her I was like Fannerly so hard I was so anxious to meet her and I’m like what is wrong with me like this is not who I am I was freaking out I Just obviously her work is beautiful.

59:10.20
charukaarora
Um, okay.

59:29.72
Katherine Mason
But for me, it’s her work ethic and her story and how she hustled and she knows exactly what what she wants to say how she wants to say it. She’s very clear in her. Yeah, she just is she is yeah.

59:32.74
charukaarora
Yeah.

59:38.82
charukaarora
Um, yeah, and she doesn’t care I think I love her energy. You have like absolutely no fuck here.

59:48.75
Katherine Mason
Absolutely and I love that I’m like I just wish that more women felt that kind of empowerment to just get go after it and not give a shit what she says and so I love that about her and I have a book. Yeah I have a book she signed and I read it from time to time.

59:56.21
charukaarora
I know? Yeah, yeah, yeah I love this Oh wow, That’s amazing. Okay.

01:00:08.71
Katherine Mason
Um, so yes, very motivating for sure.

01:00:16.46
charukaarora
Can you share a for a favorite moment of yours as an artist something that any experience or moment where you truly felt very grateful for where you are and what you’re doing right? um.

01:00:26.57
Katherine Mason
Okay, so I have a story that happened probably back in 2017 ish um I was doing a small art fair. It was called art in the park friends where Texas very small neighborhood little art fair for the weekend and I brought some prints out and I had finally made some prints of some of my rose paintings and I had you know. Was very immature set up I was new to doing all of this and had a little tent had my prints. You know, put all my money into it and I was just hoping for the best and it was a pretty slow weekend I mean it was a wonderful show. Met wonderful people. But um, this woman came up and she was looking at. My lipstick prints and I remember she was kind of looking at things and I remember she was pregnant and she started to get teary guideed and she was reading some of the stuff that I had about what the series was what it meant what? I why I was doing it. And um, she was teareyed I was talking to another person but I noticed her and she kind of she looked at me and she goes it’s it’s beautiful work and she left very quickly and there was something inside of me.

01:01:55.92
Katherine Mason
And granted, you know I’ve seen a lot of people get emotional. Um sorry over my work and so it wasn’t anything new and but I had this feeling in every cell of my body that it was like this tension of like go after. Go after her go after her like and I feel like to me that was one of the first times I ever felt like god talking to me like go after don’t let her go. Don’t let her go and it was like give her something give her something like give her this give her this and I’m like it all happened so quickly and I was. You know you have to remember I was at a point in my career where giving away a free print was me losing money and I needed to make money you know so it wasn’t something I wanted to go and do or I would normally go and do but this feeling inside me was so crazy so I was like okay, fine and.

01:02:38.12
charukaarora
So yeah, yes.

01:02:53.12
Katherine Mason
I grabbed this print of one of my roses took off after her she was already like 6 tense down took off after left my booth unaccompanied so who knows if people stole anything just like yeah and I get up to her and i. Tap her on the shoulder. She turns around and she’s you know had been crying and I said I’m so sorry I don’t know what’s going on I know this is really weird but I would really love for you to have this and I gave it to her and she just broke down and I was just kind of like. Oh shit, what did I do like oh no, so I I just gave her a really big hug and I said I hope you love it. I’m so sorry I got to get back to my tent and I went back and so I i. Had not heard from her I she never came back around. You know it. It was just a weird thing that happened and so probably six months later I got an email and she said hi. Um.

01:04:00.82
Katherine Mason
Just wanted you to know like I don’t know if you remember me I was at Artland Park Friendswood I was very pregnant. It’s very emotional. Um and you ran up to me and you gave me a print and I I broke down and said I I want to tell you what why? I was so upset and so emotional and I’m reading it and I’m like. My God like she actually reached out to me like you know wasn’t expecting it and she said I I was grieving the one year anniversary of my best friend passing away from breast cancer and her 1 year anniversary was the day before the arch.

01:04:34.37
charukaarora
I oh my god oh wrong Christmas.

01:04:39.80
Katherine Mason
I Believe it was the day before or probably the following day. It was very close and she said I saw your work and it made me cry because I missed my friend so much and I and I left and she said when you gave me that print. Reason why I broke down was because my best friend’s name was rose and you gave me a rose print So I was like I mean it’s still I still get teary-eyed because to me that was like that was all I needed that little glimpse.

01:04:58.87
charukaarora
I O my God I can’t o my god.

01:05:07.39
charukaarora
Yes.

01:05:14.96
Katherine Mason
Of like it was like God telling me like you’re doing this for a reason and I just proved to you that I’m I’m woven into this story and I’m gonna help you get where you need to go but you have to trust me and her and I have stayed good friends.

01:05:26.58
charukaarora
Oh Wow I.

01:05:31.82
Katherine Mason
She’s wonderful and we’ve gone to dinner and you know and she is a breast cancer survivor herself and so that to me just instilled so much confidence in me that this is what I meant to be doing and it’s meant to be so much bigger than me as a person and it’s meant to help. So many other people and I’m just I’m just so privileged and happy to be the one that gets to bring it to fruition so that is by far my favorite memory of my career.

01:06:01.91
charukaarora
I Don’t know what to say I I really I really have no words I just I Really don’t know what to say it’s still.

01:06:09.90
Katherine Mason
Yeah, it was pretty incredible. Yeah.

01:06:17.80
charukaarora
Oh oh God Now she’s going to keep barking on. But ah oh.

01:06:36.10
charukaarora
And sorry oh who now unless people don’t get in everybody’s lock. She’s going to oh god Dora.

01:06:37.39
Katherine Mason
Um I God So but honestly I love dogs So this is hilarious to me.

01:06:56.40
Katherine Mason
Um, so cute.

01:06:56.84
charukaarora
Okay, I’m she where she paint it up again. I’m I’m very sure. Okay, if you were to meet younger catching today. What advice would you give her.

01:07:11.17
Katherine Mason
Oh my gosh. Um I would I would give her a very big hug and I would tell her that all the work that you’re putting into it will pay off and you know all the late nights all the money invests. And all of the sacrifices and all the things that you wish you had in life. They’re gonna come that you just have to be patient and you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and you just have to keep trusting that god has big plans for you and that they’re coming your way. But. Be patient so that would be it and never quit never ever ever. Quit.

01:07:49.24
charukaarora
I Had such a good advice.

01:07:55.93
charukaarora
Shout out to an artist who you’re currently loving on social media and.

01:08:03.59
Katherine Mason
Oh um, I actually ran across this artist. Her name is Shelby Monti from Nashville Tennessee. There’s something about her work that is so raw and organic and it’s so opposite of the way my brain is structured and I wish I could paint the way that she does um, it’s just beautiful and I recently bought a small piece of hers. It’s a ah crayon. That she drew out of crayons. It’s little It’s pink. It’s and a little frame about this big and it’s in my office and yes I love her work but her crayons I saw it and I immediately thought about myself as a child and the love I had for.

01:08:34.71
charukaarora
Okay, okay.

01:08:49.80
Katherine Mason
Art and just drawing and you know that creative passion where when you’re a little your imagination is there’s nothing. You can’t do right? like you have this childhood innocence and this creative innocence where. You can be whoever you want to be and I saw that crayon and like I’m buying that but I love that piece and it’s super meaningful to me and I’m actually going to post a video about it soon on my Instagram account that um she is oh sorry.

01:09:24.67
Katherine Mason
My recorder stopped let me see oh can you still hear me. Oh okay, perfect. Um, but yeah, her work is beautiful I I love all of her stuff. She has these swan paintings as well as um.

01:09:28.28
charukaarora
It’s okay yeah I can hear you.

01:09:44.44
Katherine Mason
Some painting like all of her bird paintings are beautiful and one one day when I have a kid I want to buy 1 for a nursery because they’re just gorgeous. Yeah, they’re they’re really beautiful. She’s she’s very talented. Yeah.

01:09:50.47
charukaarora
Oh I’m going to check her out. Definitely oh my god this has been so much fun Katherine you are ready for your podcasted now you’ve done like you’ve mastered the craft you are.

01:10:02.19
Katherine Mason
You know.

01:10:09.57
charukaarora
You have so many amazing stories to tell oh my God you’re just so kind and wonderful I Think next time I’m I’m going to hear your podcasts and I let’s hope that day come soon.

01:10:14.69
Katherine Mason
Um, thank you? um.

01:10:18.64
Katherine Mason
Yes, agreed one day we’ll get there. We got all this a footload I need to.

01:10:22.75
charukaarora
Okay, yeah you I mean you need to make the return on your investment now. Okay now tell me something before I let you go? What are you working on next. How can we support you where can people find you if you have anything coming up next.

01:10:31.81
Katherine Mason
Um, yeah, exactly.

01:10:42.60
charukaarora
Please feel free to share anything you want and.

01:10:44.27
Katherine Mason
Sure so the I am working on a custom lipstick painting right now. Um I recently posted about it. It’s for a breast cancer survivor in Las Vegas since it is my first custom painting. We’re using lipsticks from her friends family members doctors surgeons so that is a.

01:11:00.84
charukaarora
Oh Wow Wow! That’s amazing.

01:11:01.85
Katherine Mason
Super special piece. Yeah oh yeah, I’m super excited working on that. Um, and I’m hoping it’ll be done within the next two or three months and then um where how people can help me. Um.

01:11:19.66
Katherine Mason
I’d say the best way to help is to purchase a print. Um, that is how I donate um you know that and that helps my mission more than anything. Obviously if you’d love to donate lipstick if he’s been touched by breast cancer in any way I would love to get.

01:11:22.37
charukaarora
I Absolutely yeah.

01:11:38.64
Katherine Mason
From you? Um, but as far as being able to support the series buying a print is the best way. Um, and you know buy 1 for yourself. Buy 1 for a friend. The florals are great because they can be a wedding gift baby shower gift I mean you name it. Um where you can finally so my Instagram is. At painted with lipstick email is painted with lipstick at gmail.com. Um, if you want to get in touch with me my website which is also where you can purchase prints is painted with lipstick.com. Um, what else.

01:11:59.52
charukaarora
I nest.

01:12:17.78
Katherine Mason
Instagram website email if you’re on Tiktok I got a Tiktok recently. So the lipstick. Yeah I I don’t post I post all the time on there cause I’m trying to build my Instagram ah um, but yeah, that’s.

01:12:22.68
charukaarora
You oh wow, you’re also on Tiktok.

01:12:35.81
Katherine Mason
That’s all my stuff. That’s where you can bite me.

01:12:36.10
charukaarora
And oh that’s one that’s actually a lot you on Brand altogether. You really are a perfectionist you.

01:12:43.72
Katherine Mason
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, oh actually if if you’re in the Houston area and you want to come to the studio and see paintings. Um, all of my ah studio addresses are on my Instagram my website and all that stuff and we have. Ah, open studio events on the second and the third Saturday of every month and I always post about him on Instagram. So yeah, you can come in. Yeah come in see the work say hi to me and hang out. So. It’s a fun time.

01:13:04.87
charukaarora
Well, that’s amazing.

01:13:15.32
charukaarora
I Would love to do that one day for sure.

01:13:18.80
Katherine Mason
Absolutely, you’re more than welcome Anytime you want I’ll take you out.

01:13:21.51
charukaarora
And oh I’m I’m going to come visit you Oh my God Oh my God that is a dream that I’m making sure I’m definitely doing that for sure I want like I want to live in the Hills of.

01:13:26.57
Katherine Mason
Yeah, perfect and then we can go look on Mountains. On to it.

01:13:38.97
charukaarora
Every country possible I like I just want to I think I just want to spend so much more time in nature and never come out of it. We’ll do that. We’ll do that Just just little patience I’m taking your advice just a little bit more patience. Yes.

01:13:41.87
Katherine Mason
Um, be so awesome. Yeah, yeah, you and me both? Yeah yes patience.

01:13:58.27
charukaarora
But thank you so much Katherine you’ve just been so wonderful. I’m so glad we did this and I you are just so kind and wonderful. Um I truly am so grateful. It’s it was so nice to speak to you. Thank you so much. Thank you just you’re truly a gift for all of us.

01:14:10.30
Katherine Mason
Of course, Thank you and I I know that I said this when we weren’t recording earlier So I’m gonna say it again. I am so proud of the community that you have built and the fact that you saw a missing link in the art community and. In the network where artists can you know, get ahold of each other and talk about things and express ourselves and what you’ve built is so awesome and it’s so beneficial to so many of us So I’m so thankful that you took the initiative to do that. It’s obviously turned out awesome and it continues to grow. And I’m just so thankful that you gave me this beautiful opportunity. Not only to chat with you but to tell my story So I’m very appreciative.

01:14:53.55
charukaarora
I It’s truly my pleasure. Believe me, it’s truly my pleasure. We also featured your website and I was like you know that was such a great way I thought like oh let’s just take this chance and bring you on the podcast as well. So I’m glad we did that. Not only me but our team also loves your work So it’s just.

01:15:05.40
Katherine Mason
Yeah, for the law. Thank.

01:15:12.97
charukaarora
It’s just wonderful and I think it wasn’t just your work I think I’m just so glad we did this because I just met another wonderful person and I’m just grateful for that I’m grateful that we we spoke. So thank you again.

01:15:26.30
Katherine Mason
Absolutely yeah now I can say I have a friend in India.

01:15:30.52
charukaarora
Same year same year. You do you actually and we’re going to stay in touch for sure I know that thank you so much I’ll see you soon bye.

01:15:37.20
Katherine Mason
Um, absolutely I get.

01:15:42.70
Katherine Mason
That’s fine.

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