Flowers and a passion for the color red.

They’re two of the distinctive aspects enriching the work of local artist Mary Jane Orr.

A painter who shows a fondness for beauty and realism, Orr now has an exhibit of her work at the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council’s Regional Arts Center.

“As Real As It Gets” shows many of the core subjects Orr finds artistically interesting, such as moccasins and a purse that hearken back to her Native American roots. (She’s quite a combination: Choctaw, Cherokee, Sioux, Cheyenne and Dutch.)

Or there are the seashells she collected at a Florida beach, the ducks in a neighbor’s pond, a backyard lawn fixture, adobe homes in the Southwest, fall leaves near the water. These are the kind of tangible things that find life in her paintings.

“I like to make still lifes better than anything else. They’re usually very peaceful, soft and bring back good memories,” said Orr.

“When someone looks at it I want it to make them feel good,” she said.

Other paintings, such as “What’s Up the Staircase,” show her love for the color red. These gorgeously deep reds don’t overpower other colors in the painting. Rather, Orr’s reds give each painting a striking, mesmerizing quality.

Her artistic spark was first fired by photography, which in turn inspired her to pursue painting. Her first art project was a Christmas sweatshirt.

From there she moved to furniture, decorative art and murals. She started with acrylic paint. In recent years, Orr has moved to oil paintings, explaining it allows her more freedom.

“Once I started in oil I never wanted to go back to acrylic because oil gives you time to move it around,” she said.

Treva West, TRAHC’s community program coordinator, said Orr’s life story brings a lot to the table in her artwork.

“She has so many life experiences she discussed when I sat and talked with her as we put the exhibit together that make it interesting,” said West about Orr’s work.

About developing a passion for flowers, West said, “Her grandmother asked her to work in the garden at a very young age. It’s what she calls a deep attraction to flowers.”

To West, Orr is one of the best realists around, noting her paintings of glasswork that look as if they’re really sitting right there in front of you.

In her artist statement for the show, Orr talks about her technique.

“Even though oils are by far my favorite, many of the paintings in this exhibit have an acrylic undercoating. Layers of oil paint and glaze follow to form a smooth surface,” Orr wrote. “Always I strive to include light, color, depth, and detail to achieve the ‘As Real As It Gets’ effect.”

She said the glaze keeps the color vibrancy alive, particularly with her favorite colors, orange and red.

It’s her purpose, Orr believes, to leave the viewer with a peaceful feeling.



(Orr’s exhibit will be shown at the Regional Arts Center until Saturday, Sept. 27. Admission is free. The RAC is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday with a 7 p.m. close on Thursdays.)