How An Artist went from Sketching to Professional Car Styling

Philip Mason is a talented artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He grew up painting, drawing, and sketching, and got his first freelance job when he was in eighth grade for a regionally acclaimed comic book. He went on to do more commissions and win local awards before heading off to college. At the urging of his parents, he began studying engineering rather than his true passion. After a few years, Mason came across a Japanese car styling magazine, and had an epiphany that this occupation was his true calling. He immediately enrolled at College for Creative Studies in Detroit and was hired at Ford Motor Company as a car stylist upon graduation, being only one of three students in the program to get a job directly out of college. 

Being part of the Ford Motor Company Design Staff for over twelve years was a dream for Mason. When the economy took a turn for the worst and the business of automotive design shifted, he left to join the “dot-com” boom as well as work as an adjunct professor at CCS, where he had studied years earlier. He promised himself at this time that at the age of 45 he would retire and spend the rest of his life painting. We’re grateful for this, because we are able to enjoy the beautiful watercolors Mason creates.

In his automotive painting, Mason frames his Formula 1 subjects tightly, filling the frames with the cars. This helps us to focus on the scenes and parts that Mason himself finds the most intriguing. 

Which painting is your favorite?

Click here to view Philip Mason’s portfolio.

Click here to contact Mason.