Teresa Mason

Her story: I am a native West Virginian and grew up in Harrison County. I graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia where my husband and I still live and where we raised three children amid numerous cats and dogs. I did portraits in pastel and oil in college. In 2017 I took a workshop from artist Lisa Ober that rekindled my passion for portraits and pastel. For the first time I discovered the joy of combining my love for animals with my love of painting. Each portrait becomes a puzzle to be worked. The challenge of creating the soft feel of a silky ear and contrasting that with the texture of a wet nose and luminous eyes is something I truly enjoy. More than just capturing a likeness, I strive to coax the personality of the animal to shine through. I continue to learn something new with each project.

My camera is always close by and my eyes are drawn to the play of light. My favorite portraits are ones where light defines the textures of the coat and the structure of the head. A sense of color is a strong point in pastels. The beautiful pure pigment of pastel lends itself to creating believable images.