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Mattie Lou O’Kelley still
painting at 82
By ANGELA GARY
The Jackson Herald, October 31, 1990, Page 6
 The internationally known folk artist
sat at a table signing autographs and answering questions about her life
and work.
Copies of her four books were
stacked on the front of the table. The lines were long at times but the
82-year-old woman had a smile and autograph for all who asked.
Mattie Lou O'Kelley, formerly of
Maysville, was at the depot in Cornelia Saturday to autograph copies of
her four books as part of the Big Red Apple Festival.
She didn't seem to be bothered
by the crowds. Miss O'Kelley says she is used to her fame.
"I don't even think about
it any more," she says. "I'm still just me. I'm normally very
shy."
The artist's books include
"Circus" and "A Winter Place," which she illustrated
and "From the Hills of Georgia" and "Mattie Lou O'Kelley
Folk Artist," which she illustrated and wrote. She has also
illustrated two calendars and painted the cover for several periodicals.
The soft-spoken artist says
"From the Hills of Georgia" is her favorite of the four. It is a
biographical book filled with paintings of the farm near Maysville where
she grew up.
Miss O'Kelley says she has
another book, "Moving to Town," which will be released next
September. It deals with moving from the country to the city, she says.
Although she is not working on a
book now, Miss O'Kelley is still busy painting, usually concentrating on
private work for different customers.
The artist paints almost every
day. She says the only days she doesn't paint are the cloudy, rainy days.
"I am just miserable when
the weather is bad," she says. "I like to paint when there is
daylight."
Miss O'Kelley says many people
have stopped at her Decatur home to see her work. However, she doesn't
have a gallery. She deals with her customers directly.
During the past 22 years, she
has painted a wide variety of subjects but says cats and flowers have been
her favorite.
She is a self-taught artist who
does much of her painting from memory. Miss O'Kelley says she was
interested in painting all of her life but didn't begin selling her work
until she was 60. It all began when she sold prints for $1 each at the
Maysville Autumn Leaf Festival.
During the early part of her
life she lived near downtown Maysville and worked at several jobs,
including a sewing plant, a yarn factory, a school lunchroom and keeping
house for $3 a week. After the artist began selling her artwork
commercially, it gradually gained recognition.
She has lived in Decatur for the
past 10 years but still enjoys visiting Maysville. She has friends and a
sister-in-law, Ruth O'Kelley, living in the small town. But she is the
only one left of the eight children in her family.
Page last updated
11/13/2011 |
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