Pittsburgh artist adds authentic touch to Mr. Rogers movie 'You Are My Friend'

The creative forces behind the upcoming movie about Pittsburgh icon Mr. Rogers are drawing inspiration from the city and its residents, including artist Brett Mason.

Mason, a painter who lives in the city’s Beechview neighborhood, says he sold nearly a dozen watercolors to the production of “You Are My Friend” for use on set, including a commissioned painting of a home reminiscent of one Fred Rogers owned in Nantucket.

“I’ve been an artist all my life,” he told Channel 11. “Always been creative.”

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How Mason’s work came to be featured in one of 2019’s most anticipated movies is a very Pittsburgh story.

He sets up a display of his work at the city’s popular Three Rivers Arts Festival every year, he said, where hundreds of artists sell their wares. The set decorator for “You Are My Friend” happened to stop by this past June and showed interest, later coming to his home, where he has an attic studio.

“I tend to work outdoors a lot,” he said.

This is the first time Mason’s work will appear in a Hollywood production, he said, although he’s come close before.

No doubt his paintings will add an authentic Pittsburgh touch to a movie about one of its most beloved sons. You can take a look at Mason's website here.

Cox Media Group