Mississippi Art Collection:
Woodville Welcome Center – Woodville
The Woodville Welcome Center in Woodville 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.
Jacqueline González Wooton
Hometown: Hattiesburg, MS
Sanctuary
I had first heard about Rodney, Mississippi, from various photographers who had visited the town in search of interesting, abandoned towns to photograph. Their descriptions of Rodney as a ghost town had piqued my curiosity, and finally, in 2024, I was able to take a road trip to visit the town. I was immediately in love.
Rodney was once a bustling city on the banks of the Mississippi River. Today, it is a ghost town. Situated 32 miles northeast of Natchez, Rodney once stood proud as a leading city along the Mississippi River. First called Petit Gulf, Rodney almost became the state capital after Mississippi achieved statehood in 1817. The town was incorporated in 1828 and had about 20 buildings stretching from the river to the bluff behind town. Rodney quickly grew to 4,000 residents by 1860 with banks, wagon makers, tinsmiths, barbers, doctors, dentists, and general mercantile stores, hotels, bars, and barbershops. The town’s growth surpassed that of Jackson, Mississippi, which claimed a population of just 3,191 residents in 1860. Then, in 1870, Mother Nature dealt a blow. A large sand bar formed in the river, forcing the Mighty Mississippi to move two miles west. The town lost its port. The war, the fire, and the loss of river trade caused many of Rodney’s residents to move to more prosperous towns. By 1930, the Governor of Mississippi proclaimed that Rodney was no longer considered an official town. Since then, floods from the nearby river continue to diminish the remaining structures. Most locals say that the 2011 flood washed away most of the residents and structures that were left. Even though the town is now in ruins, it still stands as a time capsule of a past we seldom see today.
When I was asked to create a painting for the Woodville Hospitality Station and realized of its proximity to Rodney, Mississippi, I immediately knew I had to recreate the old Greek Gothic Revival church. The Sanctuary is my rendition and interpretation of this iconic structure. The Church was originally the town’s Baptist Church, which ended its days as a rural African American church. This striking structure is more than simply abandoned; it’s a window into the past and still a beautiful lady rising in the midst of what is now one of Mississippi’s most interesting ghost towns.
Artist Bio
Jacqueline González Wooton was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New Orleans. Art has always been a constant in her life. Growing up, her father’s artistic talent inspired her, and she began to paint at a young age. Her love for color and vibrant imagery is evident in her work, which often reflects the cultural richness of Puerto Rico and New Orleans, places that deeply shaped her identity. While she primarily works from a home studio, through the years she has also had the opportunity to showcase her art at art fairs, juried exhibitions, and art council exhibits, enabling her to connect with other artists and share her passion with the community.
After moving to Hattiesburg in 2017, she became a member of the Hattiesburg Arts Council and served as President for a period of 3 years. During recent elections, she was again voted as President of the Council. She has participated in art exhibits for the Hattiesburg Arts Council, the Meridian Museum, and the MS Art Association.
Currently, she serves as Vice-President of the MS Latinx Art Association, created in conjunction with her partners, Hector and Tom Boldo, with a mission to promote, help, and educate Latin artists in MS. She is also co-owner of Nuestro Arte Gallery in downtown Hattiesburg.
Her artwork can be found via her website, JackieGonzalezArt.com, and at Abode Gallery in Metairie, Louisiana. She is also an artist member of Where Y’Art Works in New Orleans, where her work is exhibited via their website.
Karen Bennett
Hometown: Kokomo, MS
Blue Lily
Blue Lily—Join me as we embark on a quiet evening gazing upon a Mississippi lake. As the setting sun reflects on the water, the lily pads almost seem to glow in the warmth from above. Croaking bull frogs and chirping crickets sing in harmony as swaying trees hum the melody of the gentle breeze. The sound of the water as it brushes against the lily pads creates an ambiance of tranquility within the confines of the evening.
Artist Bio
Karen is an award-winning Studio and Plein Air Artist. She is married to her wonderful husband, Danny, and they live on their fourth-generation farm in South Mississippi. They are blessed with four beautiful daughters and three sons-in-law, including a bonus granddaughter. Most of Karen’s inspiration comes from the great outdoors of their family farm and the many travels with her husband and their two pup children. “My desire is for the viewer to see, feel and hear the peacefulness of the pastoral scene.”
She has studied and mentored under renowned artists from across the nation and is a member of local and national art associations. Karen’s artwork has appeared on HGTV’s Home Town and has found a home in many collections across the United States. She is represented by Pacesetter Gallery in Flowood, Mississippi, and Arts District Studio in Natchez, Mississippi. She invites you to follow her art journey on Instagram and Facebook at KarenBennettArt.com.
Justin Selway
Hometown: Canton, MS
Swivel, Dive & Swoop
In Justin Selway’s Swivel, Dive and Swoop, a lively artwork, three graceful barn swallows dance against a steel bridge backdrop, illustrating the perfect blend of nature and industrial design. The art combines watercolor, acrylic, and ink to form a vivid, moving tapestry. The swallows, with their lightness and elegant flight, create lyrical lines across the sky with their swift, forked tails. The sturdy bridge contrasts with their fluid movements, offering a strong yet harmonious scene. This captivating piece reflects on Mississippi’s waterways and the interplay of the natural and constructed environments. Inspired by the artist’s childhood memories of swimming in his local river and watching swallows nesting under the nearby bridge, this art celebrates the state’s distinct scenery and encourages appreciation for the beauty found where nature and human creations intertwine, sparking feelings of exploration and discovery.
Artist Bio
American artist Justin Selway brings his unique style and experience to encaustics, an ancient medium used by the pharaohs. Using beeswax, damar tree resin, pigments, and fire, Justin creates stunning textures and depth to create a beautiful piece of encaustic work. Although encaustic is one of his newest passions, he brings to it many years of creative experience. Justin is also known for his watercolor and acrylic paintings and award-winning design work. As a textile designer, he has developed some of the most effective and top-grossing camouflage patterns in the hunting industry.
He is an avid outdoorsman who grew up in Southwest Montana. As a child, he enjoyed ranch work, fly fishing, hunting, and hiking in some of the most beautiful places Montana has to offer. After the fall hunting season, Justin would head to the local ski area and stay at the family cabin in Grasshopper Valley. This area brought forward opportunities for adventure and creative thinking. Justin was dedicated to drawing and painting, entering local art shows and displaying work in local galleries from a young age. Also in his youth, Justin worked summers as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, where he was able to travel and work with many great people. The work was physically demanding, the terrain often unforgiving, but the setting was always beautiful and inspiring. He was able to experience things in nature that others never get to see.
Justin moved to Washington to attend The Art Institute of Seattle, earning an Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design and Advertising. This was his first taste of urban life, and new adventures in the art world were all around. After graduation, he moved back to Montana to work for an advertising agency in Helena, Montana, and soon moved on to freelance graphic design. This followed with work at Montana Magazine in Helena, The Montana Standard newspaper in Butte, and several other local businesses. In 2000, Justin presented his first of five poster designs for the Bannack State Park to Governor Marc Racicot. He was honored to have these designs hung in the Montana State Capitol building.
Around this time, he moved to Missoula, Montana, to work for The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, where he did layout design for Bugle Magazine, and designed and built displays and signage for the 2001 Elk Camp Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He later took a job with Cedar Mountain Data Design, where he worked on web development for several local businesses, including Trout Unlimited Federation and more.
In 2003, Justin moved to Columbus, Georgia, to work for Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd. (Realtree and Advantage Camouflage Brands) in their marketing department and soon became the Pattern Designer and Special Products Manager. Here, he spent over 15 years designing camouflage patterns from concept to completion. These designs were licensed to retailers and manufacturers globally. Upon final approval, he would develop the first standard fabric prints with textile mills on the East Coast and in the Southeast. These prints were the benchmark for all print items to match going forward. Justin designed several ad campaigns, products, packaging, and branding items over the years, as well.
With many adventures in his life and career, family, art, design, and nature are always present. Today, Justin enjoys painting in encaustics and pushing the boundaries of himself and this medium. He continues to build upon his skills in other media and likes to combine them whenever possible. He currently works as a full-time artist and lives with his wife and children in Canton, Mississippi.
For more information and to see his additional works, visit Pacesetter Gallery in Flowood, Mississippi and pacesettergallery.com
Susan Wellington
Hometown: Flowood, MS
Nose to the Ground and Well Balanced
The endangered Sandhill Cranes of Mississippi have always captivated me. Their quiet grace, deliberate movements, and enduring presence in our wetlands are a treat to behold. In these watercolor paintings, I wanted to capture not only the bird’s form, but also the calm and rhythm of their world.
Using soft, transparent washes, I let the colors flow gently, the russet, gray, ochre, and blues all supporting the vibrant red of their crowns. Their elegant posture and reflective stillness speak to the fragile beauty of the Mississippi landscape, a place where even the simplest moments in nature feel profound and timeless.
Artist Bio
Born in Sasebo, Japan, and rooted in Mississippi for most of her life, Susan has always felt a deep connection to the South’s landscape and spirit. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education with a concentration in Art from Mississippi College in 1978. Although life took her away from the studio for many years, she returned to painting with renewed passion once her children were grown—embracing a long-held desire to create and express.
Susan’s artistic journey is one of continuous growth and exploration. Unlike many artists who specialize in a single medium, she has pursued mastery across watercolor, pastel, and oil painting. Her dedication to learning has led her to study under master artists such as Roger Dale Brown, Stephanie Birdsall, and Joe Anna Arnett. She also credits her friend and mentor, Bob Tompkins, for encouraging her development. Deeply inspired by the writings of historic art figures like John Carlson and Edgar Payne, Susan blends classical principles with hands-on experience—especially through painting en plein air, which has transformed the way she sees and interprets the world around her.
Drawing inspiration from the places she knows best—her Mississippi home and the scenes she discovers on her travels—Susan paints from life, striving to capture not only what she sees but also what she feels. Her work seeks to reveal the quiet beauty and subtle color found in each subject, creating a visual narrative that stirs emotion and memory in the viewer.
Susan’s talent and vision have been recognized through awards and juried selections at local, state, and national levels. She has been recognized as a “Fav 15%” winner by the Bold Brush Art Competition and has exhibited in three Oil Painters of America National Shows and two American Impressionist Society National Shows. Her work was recently selected for inclusion in the Degas Pastel Society International Show. One of her pieces has been acquired for the permanent collection of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, and several have been featured on HGTV’s Home Town. Additional accolades include honors from the Vicksburg Art Association, The Cedars Juried Show, Mississippi Watercolor Grand National Show, Art on the Rez, and Woman Painters of the Southeast.
Susan is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, the Mississippi Oil Painters Association, the Mississippi Plein Air Artists, and the Pastel Society of Mississippi. She holds signature membership in both the Mississippi Watercolor Society and the Degas Pastel Society.
Her work is represented by the Caron Gallery in Tupelo and Laurel, the Jackson Street Gallery in Ridgeland, Pacesetter Gallery in Flowood, and online at pacesettergallery.com
When not painting, Susan enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, and spending cherished time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.
Ava Jeanne Davis
Hometown: Jackson, MS
Exploring the Woods
One summer weekend, my friends called me and told me we were going on a side quest. Thirty minutes later, my boots were laced up, and my water bottle was packed as I climbed in the back of a Subaru with the promise of adventure in my mind. A couple of hours later, we ended up at Clark Creek in Woodville, Mississippi, where a hiking path led us to beautiful shaded waterfalls. In Exploring the Woods, I explore these feelings of adventure, friendship, wonder, and nostalgia through this whimsical scene of friendship and nature. After my initial visit to Clark Creek’s natural waterfalls, I knew I had to go back and share the splendors I had experienced with more loved ones, and now those who visit Mississippi can catch a glimpse of the joy that Mississippi’s nature can bring.
Artist Bio
Ava Jeanne Davis is a visual artist native to Washington, D.C., and Jackson, Mississippi. She received her formal arts education during her formative years at Wells Academic and Performing Arts Complex (formally Power APAC), before studying Studio Art and Early Childhood Psychology at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she graduated in 2023. Since graduating, she has begun pursuing a Master of Social Work while refining and maintaining her painting practice. As a young artist, Ava Jeanne has shown work in multiple group exhibits and recently concluded a 9-month residency at St. Roch Community Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she immersed herself in the Saint Roch community while deepening her artistic practice.
Through every painting, watercolor, drawing, and print, Ava Jeanne constructs nostalgic moments where the figure, their environment, and the audience converse, transcending the substrate. Scenes move between warmth and coolness, singularity and groups, and direct eye contact and confrontation with the viewer. Within each piece, there exists a world where marks, strokes of color, and value either battle, dance, or sweep across the substrate, creating a relationship between the lives captured in the artwork and the life outside the piece.
