Teresa Mason, a Buckhannon pastel artist known for her animal portraits, has added two more national honors to her growing resume. Her painting “Good Boy!” won First Place in the Fourth Quarter Contest and Second Place in the 2025 Yearly Finalist Awards sponsored by Dakota Pastels, a major supplier of pastel art materials that hosts international competitions throughout the year.
Quarterly contests draw around 500 artists from the United States and abroad, with many entering more than one painting. Yearly finalists are chosen from the top quarterly winners. Mason competes in the Emerging Artists category; the competition also includes an Established Artists division for more experienced painters. Dakota Pastels distributes $32,000 in prizes annually.
“Good Boy!” depicts Riley, Mason’s golden retriever, catching a ball in his mouth. The same painting earned an honorable mention in the 26th Annual Pastel 100 — selected from approximately 2,500 entries worldwide — and appeared in the Spring Edition of Pastel Journal. My Buckhannon covered that honor last March.
This year’s Dakota Pastels results came with a personal message from Mason’s mentor. Pittsburgh artist Christine Swann, who has worked with Mason for three years, won First Place in the Established Artists division at the 2025 Year End Finalists — a $2,000 prize. Mason’s Second Place in the Emerging Artists category earned her $600. After the results were announced, Swann contacted Mason with a nudge: it was time to move to the Established division.
Mason credits Swann with pushing her to a higher level of craft.
“She was tough. I only remember her giving me a compliment once,” Mason said. “But I learned more about values, edges, contrast and composition than I could have imagined.”
Mason’s history with Dakota Pastels goes back further than these recent wins. Her first recognition from the organization came six years ago — a Staff Pick. In 2023, her painting “My Sunshine” won Second Place in a quarterly contest.
The last few years have brought steady recognition. Between October 2023 and October 2024, Mason earned five awards, including two Best of Show honors at Randolph County’s Fall Forest Festival Exhibition and a Second Place at the Randolph County Art Center’s Gala Exhibition.
“Receiving these awards has given me the confidence to continue to set goals and experiment with new techniques,” she said.
Mason has been working with pastels since 2018 and has completed around 40 portraits, focusing primarily on dogs. Her best-known commission was for Governor Jim Justice — not of his high-profile English bulldog Babydog, but of his English Pointer, Lilly.
Her work is available at www.teresamasonart.com.
