Mississippi Art Collection:
Delma Furniss Welcome Center – Lula
The Delma Furniss Welcome Center in Lula features a curated collection of original works by Mississippi artists that celebrate the cityscapes, history, and culture of the Magnolia State, offering a creative glimpse into Mississippi life. Each of the state’s welcome centers showcases its own unique selection of Mississippi art, giving visitors a distinctive introduction to the creative people and noteworthy places that shape the state. The collection was curated in partnership with Pacesetter Gallery, whose support helps highlight the remarkable talent and vision of Mississippi’s artists.
Carol Roark
Hometown: Charleston, MS
Strong and Steady
Strong and Steady depicts one of my favorite areas to paint—in a cypress brake. Living on the edge of the Mississippi Delta gives me access to a vast array of wetland areas. From the stately cypress and tupelo trees to the many sounds of Delta wildlife, I find these to be places of immense peace. I hope to invite the viewer into this same serenity every time they view my work.
Artist Bio
After receiving her BFA from Mississippi State University, Carol spent several years as an equine illustrator and portrait artist. She created cover designs for The Chronicle of the Horse, Equine Art News, and helped illustrate the biography America’s Horse, based on the life of famed quarter horse Rugged Lark. She was the official artist and program cover designer for the Dixie National Quarter Horse Show from 1995 through 2005, becoming very successful and receiving much recognition.
With a passion to paint the landscape, she was introduced to artist Sammy Brit during a week-long workshop in 1997. This was a defining factor in becoming the artist she is today. Britt, a professor at Delta State University, studied extensively under famed colorist Henry Hensche. Until then, she had never worked plein air and was not even familiar with the term, but for the next 10 years, she studied under the direction of Britt.
Through the study of the colorist theories and working strictly on location, Carol learned to see color, light key, and atmosphere in a way she had never imagined. The enjoyment of plein air rekindled her admiration for the Mississippi landscape. The love has become evident in her portrayal of the Southern landscape. When asked what she feels is most important in her art, Roark says, “I just want to show the world the beauty that is right in front of them. I love the South and the Southern landscape, and I think the beauty here is overlooked. It’s all about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.”
Carol is a member of the American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters of America, the Mississippi Oil Painters Association, Mississippi Plein Air Painters, and is the current president of the Memphis Germantown Art League.
She is also the owner of Roark Studios, where she has taught weekly classes and workshops since 1994.
Darryl Anderson
Hometown: Jackson, MS
Blue Front Café
This watercolor painting is one of three created by artist Darryl Anderson for the Lula, Mississippi, Hospitality Center that features important blues landscapes. This watercolor celebrates the active juke joint, The Blue Front Café, and the musical tradition that it upholds. Established in 1948 by Carey and Mary Holmes, the Blue Front Café is the oldest juke joint in Mississippi and is run by Bentonia Blues legend Jimmy “Duck” Holmes. This painting shows Jimmy “Duck” Holmes performing the blues outside the Blue Front Café.
The modest cinder block music venue can be found on Highway 49 in Bentonia, MS, approximately 30 miles northwest of Jackson, MS, which played an important role in the history of the blues in Mississippi. An important stop on the Mississippi Blues Trail, the juke joint began when hands from the surrounding cotton plantations gathered at the Blue Front Café for relaxation and entertainment, and it was the birthplace of the blues style called the Bentonia School.
Featured in a 2015 documentary, I Am the Blues, and recently in The Black Keys’ music video, in which the band took over the joint to film a video for their cover of the old blues standard, Crawling King Snake. Contact the Blue Front Café for upcoming events and festivals.
Crossroads
This watercolor painting is one of three created by artist Darryl Anderson for the Lula, Mississippi Hospitality Center that features important blues landscapes. This piece depicts the Crossroads sign in Clarksdale, MS, marking the intersection of U.S. Routes 61 and 49, where, allegedly, the blues musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil for musical talent. This iconic sign is a major attraction, symbolizing Delta Blues history. Although debate exists over the location of this mythical spot, the sign stands at the widely recognized site of that fateful night at the crossing.
Po’ Monkeys
This watercolor painting is one of three created by artist Darryl Anderson for the Lula, MS Hospitality Center that features important blues landscapes. This painting depicts a longtime juke joint, the iconic Po’ Monkeys outside of Merigold, MS.
Founded in the early 1960s, and one of the last rural juke joints in the Delta, the shack was originally a sharecropper’s home. The exterior has been memorialized in many paintings due to the “No Loud Music, No Dope Smoking, No Rap Music,” and iconic Po’ Monkey’s historic building, which was an important part of the Delta Blues scene.
The building was owned and operated by Willie “Po’ Monkey” Seaberry, a colorful character known for his colorful suits, which he often changed throughout the night. The juke joint closed in 2016 at the passing of Seaberry and remains an important marker on the Mississippi Blue Trail.
Artist Bio
Darryl Anderson was born May 3, 1967, in Los Angeles, California, and is currently living in Jackson, MS. The watercolor artist paints in vibrant hues and is known for capturing the most delightful scenes of the Mississippi landscape. From Blues scenes to rural towns, the layers of watercolor bring the landscape to life, highlighting and celebrating everyday living in the South. Layers of color in his subjects and their shadows bring the viewer deep into each scene. His work is often described as a journey of redemption, using color to tell the story of Mississippi.
Gary Walters
Hometown: Jackson, MS
Back Home II
Mississippi steps forward in this iconic Delta painting by Mississippi artist Gary Walters. The artist’s love for his state and the beauty of the landscape is highlighted with bold colors and textures. The feeling of life in the Delta and of being connected to the Mississippi landscape passes from artist to viewer.
This painting was created from memories and images of times the artist spent in the Delta, a strong theme that has interested him throughout his life’s work.
– Gary Walters
Artist Bio
Gary Walters is a Christian artist and a native of Jackson, Mississippi. He has lived in Jackson all his life except for the two years when he lived in Texas. He and his wife, Joan, have four grown children, Doug, Daniel, Jill, and Jacob, and they have seven grandchildren. Gary attended the Jackson Public Schools through tenth grade, then moved to Deer Park, Texas, where he graduated from high school.
Gary’s father sparked his interest in art at an early age. Walters attended Hinds Junior College and studied with Louis Walsh and Katherine Denton. While there, he won the title of the school’s most outstanding art student. He received a Bachelor’s Degree from Mississippi College, where he studied under Dr. Sam Gore and received the Bellaman Award for the most creative art student. Gary later earned a Master’s Degree from Mississippi College.
Over the past 45 years, Walters has had numerous one-man shows. He has also taught art at Mississippi College, Mississippi State University, Hinds Community College, and Belhaven University, and has led many painting workshops. In 1993, he was honored as the Art Alumnus of the Year for Mississippi College. He is represented in many public and private collections throughout the United States and several foreign countries. Walters has been featured in Mississippi Magazine, Delta Magazine, The Clarion-Ledger, Scope Magazine, WLBT, VIP Magazine, and others. Quail Ridge Press published Gary Walters’ book, Gary Walters Delta Dreamin,’ in October, 2008.
Walters was honored in 2009 by the Mississippi State Senate with a concurrent resolution for bringing honor to the State of Mississippi through his paintings and his book. In 2010, Gary was honored by his high school, Deer Park High School in Deer Park, Texas, with induction into the Felton F. Waggoner Hall of Honor. In 2023, Walters received Best of Show and 1st Place at the Crosstie Art and Jazz Festival.
Walters makes this statement about his work, “I consider each work of art as an adventure or trip you have never been on before. I believe the subject to be mainly an inspiration point. I feel no matter what the outside subject happens to be, the real subject should be the painting itself. If the artist makes a valid statement it comes not from the subject but from the artist’s knowledge, skill, and above all HIS HEART.”
Kira Cummings
Hometown: Jackson, MS
Sam Cooke, Bobby Rush, Albert King, Arthur BigBoy Crudup, Cassandra Wilson, Bo Diddley, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Papa Lightfoot, and Mr. Sipp
The Mississippi Blues Trail pays tribute to the musicians and creators who shaped an enduring cultural legacy, preserving their stories and influence for future generations. In a similar spirit, my series highlights a wide range of influential Mississippians whose achievements continue to echo throughout the state and far beyond, underscoring the lasting impact of their work on both local communities and the broader cultural landscape.
Artist Bio
Kira Cummings is a multi-media artist adept in an array of disciplines: painting, pyrography, photography, videography, graphic design, and animation. A fine art graduate of Jackson State University with a minor in graphic design, Cummings holds a membership in the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi for pyrography and the Louisiana Crafts Guild. Cummings is the Creative Director for The Works, where she creates video and animation for musicians, interview programs, and corporate promotions, and produces live events.
Kwasi Butler
Hometown: Jackson, MS
Guys Weekend
This painting was inspired by the energy, storytelling, and sense of adventure found in Mississippi, especially along the Delta and river regions, where history, music, and chance all seem to ride together. I wanted to capture the feeling of a road trip through Mississippi—windows down, friends close, and the promise of excitement ahead—symbolized by the red car speeding toward a glowing casino sign under a bold Southern sky. The exaggerated expressions and bright colors reflect the warmth, humor, and larger-than-life personalities that make Mississippi unforgettable. Elements like the dice and casino reference the state’s gaming culture, while the open road and setting sun suggest opportunity, risk, and possibility. Through my artwork, I invite viewers to see Mississippi as a place where tradition meets thrill, where every turn has a story, and where slowing down to explore its towns and culture
Artist Bio
Chrystian Kwasi Butler (b. 2000) is an artist from Jackson, Mississippi. His work reflects his innermost thoughts, using vibrant color and expressive forms to convey the intensity of his emotional experiences. Kwasi believes that while individual stories differ, foundational human emotions are shared, and through vulnerability, he seeks to create genuine connections with viewers. He currently lives and works in Jackson, Mississippi.
Mundise Mortimer
Hometown: Laurel, MS
Mississippi Gold
There are two scenes that come to mind when thinking of Mississippi. The lush greenery that envelops the highways leading into the state and the long, low horizon of the Delta say, “Welcome to Mississippi.” This scene is from the backroads. The trees have not been cleared for farming, and the highway doesn’t go through here. There’s a creek or tributary winding through the land that may eventually feed the mighty Mississippi River. The field is bathed in sunshine, turning ordinary weeds and wildflowers into gold.
The highways might bring you into the state. Mississippi Gold invites you to take the backroads to experience the great, big skies and lush greenery that blanket the state.
Artist Bio
Mundise is an emerging artist focusing on pastels and mixed media. After graduating from Delta State University with a BFA in Interior Design, she moved to Los Angeles and then to Charlotte, NC, for her corporate career.
A lifelong lover of art and design, she returned to Mississippi after leaving her corporate career. She is happy to be living in Laurel, where she paints, volunteers at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, and often visits family and friends.
Her pastels are combined with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink, and even oil, along with collage elements to create images that use the natural environment as a starting point for interpretation.
She has done workshops with noted pastel artists Tony Allain, Greg Barnes, Eve Miller, Marcia Holmes, and Susan Kuznitsky; and watercolorists John Gaddis and Richard Siegel. She is a member of the Mississippi Society of Pastel Artists and an associate member of the Degas Pastel Society.
Johnnie L. Smith
Hometown: Cleveland, MS
Delta Life and Music
This is an oil pastel on paper created specifically for the Lula, Mississippi Welcome Center. Growing up in Cleveland, MS, I have always been drawn to the Delta, its beauty, the fields of cotton, and its people. Featured in this piece is a well-known juke joint that has brought entertainment to many and features a talented bluesman from Clarksdale, Mississippi, the one and only Christone Ingram, also known as Kingfish. The big front porch welcomes you to enter its shade, stay a while, and be a part of the story of the delta.
Artist Bio
Johnnie L. Smith creates scenes of life in the Delta, both from the past and present. Growing up in Cleveland, MS, Johnnie became interested in drawing from early childhood. His mom bought him a set with pastels, drawing pencils, and acrylic paints. He would draw and paint from comic books—Superman and Batman came to life, and he received attention from the kids in the neighborhood. “The kids loved my work, which was a big deal to me. It pushed me to keep on,” states the artist.
Over the years, as his style developed, he began selling his work and has built a following with his storytelling.
At 73, he shows no signs of slowing down and still paints almost every day. “It’s something I just love to do; if I’m not making art, I feel like I’m not living.”
Now that Smith is retired, he paints in spurts of creativity, and when he is most motivated to work. He welcomes periods of rest and relaxation to foster the joy he finds in painting and avoid burnout. He accepts occasional commissions and has painted pieces for local organizations like the Bolivar County Literacy Council. Each year, he makes an effort to present his work at the Crosstie Arts and Jazz Festival in Cleveland, and in 2022, Smith won the “Best in Show” trophy. “I have dedicated my life to the appreciation of art,” said Smith. “I consider my work as a way of preserving the heritage of the Mississippi Delta by creating art that captures local life, history, character, and texture of the Delta.” After more than 50 years of painting, Johnnie is as passionate as ever and takes every opportunity to hone his craft while documenting the history of his life and region through his art.
