Artist Melonie McCarley Counce didn't have to leave Mississippi for inspiration
Tupelo resident Melonie McCarley Counce paints Mississippi scenes and subjects, capturing them in ways both surprising and familiar.
Her art, fueled by nostalgia, is at the intersection of food, music, film and literature in the Hospitality State.
"I consider myself a true Mississippi artist because I was born and raised and lived here all my life, and most of my subjects are Mississippi," Counce said.
Counce, 53, bases her paintings on photographs she takes, save for occasions when she's painting a historic building or scene that no longer exists or a commissioned painting from a provided image.
It's ironic, she said, that her reason to pursue a career in art was driven by a desire to leave Mississippi and to experience life in a metropolitan area where there are things going on 24/7. Yet, her greatest source of inspiration is her home state.
"It's really odd that the thing I was running from is where I wound up being happiest," Counce said.
There's a story behind each painting, and countless stories flow from them. Memories distilled into her work often elicit memories from viewers.
"When people come up and tell me their history and their story that connects to something that I've painted, that's great," Counce said. "People do that all the time."
Her subjects include William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, the Muppets and Jimmy Buffett. Tupelo subjects include TVA signage, Blue Canoe, First Presbyterian Church, Dairy Kream, and of course, Elvis Presley.
Counce, a Booneville native who has lived in Tupelo for around 30 years, was always an artist. Whether painting, drawing or making things for people, art was her chosen medium.
Getting a nice box of crayons was as good as Christmas morning, and art supplies were magic.
"That's the thing that hasn't changed," she said. "It's still magic."
Counce's love for art was nurtured by Barbara Eaton, her high school art teacher.
"By the time I was a senior in her class, she let us do kind of a studio program where you got to choose the mediums you wanted to work in and explore what you wanted to do," Counce said. "That's really what made me decide to major in art."
She earned a bachelor's degree in arts from the University of Mississippi, but upon graduation, the market just wasn't there.
Counce went into banking, where she worked at The Peoples Bank & Trust Company, now Renasant, for 12 years. After that, she spent several years working for the American Cancer Society.
But she never stopped painting. With commissions building up and Counce being encouraged by a friend to try painting full time, she decided to give it a go.
She sold her work at an art festival for the first time in 2017. She continues to sell originals and select prints at festivals and to individuals as a full-time artist.
The process of completing a painting is varied.
Photographing a subject can sometimes be quick, with the right shot captured in a couple of snaps. Other times, Counce may have 250 photos to choose from.
When it comes to painting, sometimes the planets align and a piece is finished in a day or two, Counce said.
"Other times, I have to walk away from things for hours, days, years," she said. "Sometimes I go back and finish something that I started three or four years ago just because I can't figure out what's not right, what's not working. And sometimes I'll finish a painting and completely redo it months later."
