Art by Mary Provence

Good things coming in 2024! 🎉
Thanks so much for the love and support over the past year. I’ve posted some of my favorite commissions from 2023 below, and I’d love to talk with you about the possibility of painting something for you this year! I have immediate availability open for the first half of the year. Let me know how I can help you!

Merry Christmas morning to you and your family! ❤️🎄 (yes, that is Mocha’s new cuddle bed on the couch 🐾🤪)
Luke 2 ⭐️

Last call on angel ornaments! Let me know if I can help you with a last minute happy! $15.00 each

A fun project I’ve been working on just in time for Christmas! 🎄 I love that these little angels appear to be floating in the air! 👼🏻

Custom watercolor ornaments available for purchase ($15 each). You choose your angel from the ones I already have painted, and I will assemble for you.
No two angels are the same, but all have either gold, silver, or rose gold accents and iridescent wings!

Comment or message if you’d like to order one for yourself or someone you know! (Angel pictured in green and orange is already sold)

Also available: these two framed angel pieces, $25 per frame.

Online bidding is open for the ornament auction! Search for “O Christmas Tree” to bid on my little winter tree ornament. ❄️💗

https://oxfordarts.com/ornaments

Thank you Yoknapatawpha Arts Council for the opportunity to set up at the Holiday Market! I enjoyed it!

This watercolor of Annunciation Catholic Church in Columbus, MS, was finished last week and delivered today. As a student at The W, I passed by this church often going to and from campus, but I never thought I’d be asked to paint it! Thanks to my coworker and friend, Stacy, for commissioning me to paint this for your mom! 💗

All set up at the Holiday Market! 🎄🎅🏼❄️ We’ll be here through Saturday!

Come see me at the Holiday Market this Thursday-Saturday! I’ll pop in here and there after work and on Saturday. ❤️🎄🎅🏼

Holiday Art Market Spotlight!

Introducing ✨Mary Provence✨ of Art by Mary Provence

Hello! I'm Mary Provence, and I mostly work with watercolors and acrylics, although I have dabbled in many different types of media. During my undergraduate years, I majored in K-12 Art Education at Mississippi University for Women, graduating in 2012. As an Art Education major, I became familiar with all facets of the visual arts, and also learned valuable skills used in the classroom setting. Since then, I have taught art at the elementary level, and also at several non-profits. In 2020, I decided to enroll in the Early Childhood Graduate Program at Ole Miss, graduating with my Masters in 2022. I now work at Willie Price Lab School here in Oxford, and I enjoy helping young children learn different creative processes and techniques. I particularly enjoy exhibiting my work at the Alumni Art Exhibition at MUW every four years. I regularly work on commissions for friends and family and enjoy painting for relaxation, especially on the weekends. The body of work featured here includes several pieces from my college days, as well as a few more recent pieces. It's really a "mixed bag" of various pieces created over the years with no particular style represented. Please check out my page! This is mainly where I post new content and pieces for sale. Thank you for your interest in my art!"

You can meet Mary and purchase her art work at www.oxfordarts.com today!

Art by Mary Provence

Thank you to all who have supported me in my small art business! Whether through commissions, purchases, or simply liking, commenting, and sharing my posts, you all mean more than you know! ❤️ Please keep me in mind this Christmas season! 🎄

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am thankful for the opportunity to branch out with my art and to have started selling and creating more over the last year. Thanks for all your support in 2023! ❤️

I’m happy to be participating in this event at the YAC again this year! I’ll be donating this little winter tree ornament for the auction. Come out and see all the beautiful ornaments for sale! 🎄

New VistaPrint order came in earlier this week. Gearing up for the Christmas season! Stay tuned! 🎄🎅🏼

Happy October 1st! Fall is my favorite season, despite the allergy issues that come along with falling leaves. 😬🍂🍁

“Purple Trees” is a funky reflection of the season!
Pastel on paper, matted, 2008. Size information to follow.

“Charlotte” is still available. Just in time for spooky season. 🕷️Check out my early work for sale album for more information.

I always like to see where my paintings land! Thanks, Kim Bremer Ling, for sharing the one of your childhood home in Texas! Looks great!

For anyone who has ever run through a sprinkler, or anyone who would like to today, this one’s for you! 🥵 Stay cool, my friends!

16 x 22”, digital photo, framed, 2010.
*Slight glare on the glass*

Gotta promote our VBS on Saturday even though it’s not art related! Does making sculptures and decorations count as art? 😆 Preregister at unitybaptistoxford.org/vbs

Future goals: I’d like to do a series of watercolors based on my houseplants and fish. I think a lot of people assume artists only have “artsy” related hobbies. Nope, not me!
Being given a betta last September by a coworker kicked this plant/fish thing all into motion. I had always wanted an aquarium, even as a little kid. So, I did a ton of research into what environment bettas actually need and thrive in. I ended up buying a 5 gallon tank for Sparky the betta, taught myself how to properly cycle and care for it, and then I ended up with one pothos houseplant so I could stick some stems into the top of the tank to absorb some of the nitrates. From there, I’ve ended up with 10 houseplants total, and I’ve also recently started setting up another tank I got during a July 4th sale, a 10 gallon, for a new fish. 😆 Sparky’s tank is the “fun” tank (reminds me of Lisa Frank); the new one is going to look a little more natural. It’s all become quite addicting, and getting the chemistry right for the tanks and plants is a fun challenge. I hope to be able to adopt another fish in a few weeks after the water becomes more hospitable. In the meantime, here are some planty/fishy photos from around the house! We also have two dogs, but that’s a separate post. 😉

Two acrylic pieces painted of a childhood home in Houston, TX. Thanks, Kim!
I’m going to get started on a watercolor of Annunciation Catholic Church in Columbus, MS. Stay tuned!

I’ve been pretty quiet on this page lately, but I’ve also been pretty busy! I’ve been working on a commission that I’m wrapping up this week. I was also asked to be VBS director at our church this year, and there is so much to do! We are a small church, so I’m also working on decorations. Lots of fun, but also most don’t know how much goes into it. I know I didn’t realize it before this year. Thanks for always keeping up with me. Hopefully there will be more to share here toward the end of the summer! ☺️

A few recent commissions: a framed baby gift for the newest member of my extended family born in January, and two (nearly 😉) identical watercolors of a special family home place. I love the older car and her grandmother off to the right side. It was a pleasure to work on both of these projects! Two more commissions currently in progress. Stay tuned!

Clowns…people either love them or they hate them. 😆 But, carnival week is coming up at our school, so it seemed like an opportune time to share. 🤡 🤣

“Carnival Tunes”, marker on paper, 2007, 12.5 x 19”

I truly feel like April is one of the prettiest times of the year here in Mississippi…when we are not having tornadoes, at least.
Two weeks ago (before Covid and flu hit our house 😷), we drove a few counties over to spend time with my brother for his birthday. Along the way, there are fields along the highway that are literally covered in little yellow flowers. On a sunny day, the flowers are so bright, they are practically highlighter green.
I was reminded of how last year around this time, we stopped along the road and I got some pictures for painting inspiration. That April day last year was bright and sunny; plenty of bright blue and highlighter hue to go around!! This little painting is a little abstract, a little representational, and a whole lot of color! It’s also one of my favorites!

“Somewhere in Lee County, Mississippi”, acrylic on canvas, 4 x 6”, 2022

I want to say thank you for your patience to those of you who are waiting on me to finish commissions, especially since painting isn’t my full-time job.
We’ve had both covid and flu at our house, so painting has been put on the back burner for now. 🤒 When I’m feeling better, hopefully in a few days, I’ll be able to start back in on the four paintings I’m working on. Thanks!! ❤️🎨

My heart hurts for my hometown, and also for this family. Please consider donating if you feel led and are able. 💔

https://www.gofundme.com/f/donations-for-the-herndon-family?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR03yDSeIiuKss9eTj3VWWBvpIny7Qn-4vlvpdLs0509Wakec_RSsZPu8E0

Donations for the Herndon family., organized by Walter Edington My name is Walt Edington. My wife is Ethan Herndon’s first cousin, Leah Easley Ed… Walter Edington needs your support for Donations for the Herndon family.

My heart and prayers are with everyone back home in Monroe County, MS, as they recover from the tornado that hit Amory, Wren, and Smithville tonight. Also, remembering others throughout MS who have lost family members due to these storms. Daylight will show the extent of the damage and loss of life. Please keep those affected in your prayers. 💔

Spring is on the way! 🦋

These black and white butterflies are relief prints made on Japanese printmaking paper. The prints are made using a hand-carved matrix designed by the artist (which you can think of as a giant stamp) and black printing ink. Each print has slight imperfections from the carved places on the matrix, making each one unique. As each print is pulled from the matrix, these marks vary slightly. If you know anything about relief printmaking, you’ll know that many prints can be made from a single matrix. For these two prints, though, the matrix was destroyed long ago. Only one print exists for each of the 5-10 originally pulled in 2009.

“Butterfly Garden” and “Bubbles & Butterflies”, relief prints on Japanese paper, matted, each approximately 25.5 x 31”, 2009