diff --git a/context.go b/context.go
index edcf63e..0ac2c4f 100644
--- a/context.go
+++ b/context.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 package gg
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"image"
 	"image/color"
 	"image/png"
@@ -445,6 +446,26 @@ func (dc *Context) ClipPreserve() {
 	}
 }
 
+// SetMask allows you to directly set the *image.Alpha to be used as a clipping
+// mask. It must be the same size as the context, else an error is returned
+// and the mask is unchanged.
+func (dc *Context) SetMask(mask *image.Alpha) error {
+	if mask.Bounds().Size() != dc.im.Bounds().Size() {
+		return errors.New("mask size must match context size")
+	}
+	dc.mask = mask
+	return nil
+}
+
+// AsMask returns an *image.Alpha representing the alpha channel of this
+// context. This can be useful for advanced clipping operations where you first
+// render the mask geometry and then use it as a mask.
+func (dc *Context) AsMask() *image.Alpha {
+	mask := image.NewAlpha(dc.im.Bounds())
+	draw.Draw(mask, dc.im.Bounds(), dc.im, image.ZP, draw.Src)
+	return mask
+}
+
 // Clip updates the clipping region by intersecting the current
 // clipping region with the current path as it would be filled by dc.Fill().
 // The path is cleared after this operation.
diff --git a/examples/gradient-text.go b/examples/gradient-text.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a3b983
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gradient-text.go
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"image/color"
+
+	"github.com/fogleman/gg"
+)
+
+const (
+	W = 1024
+	H = 512
+)
+
+func main() {
+	dc := gg.NewContext(W, H)
+
+	// draw text
+	dc.SetRGB(0, 0, 0)
+	dc.LoadFontFace("/Library/Fonts/Impact.ttf", 128)
+	dc.DrawStringAnchored("Gradient Text", W/2, H/2, 0.5, 0.5)
+
+	// get the context as an alpha mask
+	mask := dc.AsMask()
+
+	// clear the context
+	dc.SetRGB(1, 1, 1)
+	dc.Clear()
+
+	// set a gradient
+	g := gg.NewLinearGradient(0, 0, W, H)
+	g.AddColorStop(0, color.RGBA{255, 0, 0, 255})
+	g.AddColorStop(1, color.RGBA{0, 0, 255, 255})
+	dc.SetFillStyle(g)
+
+	// using the mask, fill the context with the gradient
+	dc.SetMask(mask)
+	dc.DrawRectangle(0, 0, W, H)
+	dc.Fill()
+
+	dc.SavePNG("out.png")
+}