D.J. Mason was born and raised in Binghamton, New York, which is located in the scenic southern tier of New York State. He was introduced to the great outdoors by his father at a very young age, and his fascination with and appreciation for nature’s intricate beauty grew with each trip to the woods and waters of upstate New York. D.J. is a degreed and licensed Professional Civil Engineer, having earned an A.S. Degree in Engineering Science from Broome Community College, a B.S. Degree in Wood Products Engineering/Building Construction from S.U.N.Y. College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University, and an M.E. Degree in Civil Engineering/Construction Engineering and Management from the Pennsylvania State University. He spent over eight years as an officer in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, followed by nearly thirty years in Construction Management consulting firms in Boston, having settled in New Hampshire.

After many years of seeing the world objectively and pragmatically as an accomplished engineer, D.J.’s love and appreciation for nature began to re-surface, and he developed a strong yearning to spend more time appreciating and capturing the beauty of the natural world. He chose oil paint as his medium for expression, and began painting during winters in New Hampshire. A self-taught artist with no formal training, D.J. paints landscapes, seascapes, and animals, and strives to capture and convey nature’s beauty in every painting. He is inspired by his time spent in the woods and waters of upstate New York and New England, his time on the magical island of Nantucket, his fascination with wildlife, and his international journeys. Painting has given D.J. an even deeper appreciation of the intricacies of nature’s beauty, as it requires him to study and understand the fine details of the relationships between flora, fauna, water, color, light, dimension, scale, and atmosphere. While immersed in each scene that he paints, it is D.J.’s goal that viewers will feel transported into the setting and be able to imagine that they are actually there, experiencing nature’s fascinating wonder and beauty.