gallery o
Story By Hazel Jump, Photos By Jodi Hutchison

Those familiar with the work of Jonesboro artist Wanda Berry are always very much intrigued by her masterful use of color and light in her paintings, which capture the image of each object she puts on her canvas.

Two examples of her work are “Wet Sand,” a portrait of her granddaughter at the seashore, and “Grover’s Iris Garden,” which won red and gold ribbons, respectively, in the November Northeast Arkansas Art League juried exhibition.

Both Wanda and her husband, Dr. Donald Berry, are Jonesboro natives. She was a student at ASU when they married, and after he enrolled in med school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, she completed her own education at Memphis State University, then taught sixth-grade students until 1963, when they started a family. Their two sons are Michael, a physician in Germantown, Tenn., and Daren, who has a medical supply business in Jonesboro.

After Donald completed medical school, he entered the Air Force and was later stationed at the Little Rock Air Force Base, where Wanda had her first art lesson.

“They were very primitive,” she says of her early paintings, “but I was immediately hooked.”

With Donald out of the service the couple returned to Jonesboro.
“I had senior ASU students come to my home at night to give me art lessons while the children slept,“ she says. “Since then, a number of artists have had an influence in my art. Some include Mrs. Virginia Bartlam; Norma Latta, now of Tulsa, Okla., and Charlott Jones of Jonesboro.”

While she has worked in a number of mediums, oil is her preference.
“You stick with something you like,” she says. “I started with oil, and I just love it. It is by far my favorite. I love a lot of color, and oil works with me, and it’s very forgiving to changing my mind. I like the way it feels and the way it moves, and I get colors with oil that I just can’t get with anything else.”
For more than 30 years the Berrys have lived in a large handsome home where each of its rooms provide a backdrop for her work, in addition to the work of other well-known artists.

Most of the art shows that she enters are those offered by the art league, and the majority of her work is done on commission. She also donates her paintings to numerous philanthropic organizations, which are then auctioned as part of their various fund-raising projects.

Wanda has never stopped taking instruction, doing so with nationally known artists Barry Thomas of Little Rock; portrait artist Karen Patton of Kansas City, and Kent Wallis, an impressionist from Utah. Both Thomas and Wallis are two of the country’s finest impressionists, and Patton is recognized throughout the country for her portraits.

A large studio was added to the Berry home a number of years ago, and it is here that Wanda does most of her work. Its walls, too, serve as backgrounds for her paintings.

“I try to paint almost every day, when possible,” she says. “Doing portraits of our five grandchildren as they grow and change is a continuous priority.” She also paints with a group of women who gather in the annex of First Baptist Church on a regular basis.

“We partner together spiritually, pray together and paint,” she says. “Not a bad combination for growth. Jean Gipson makes sure that we stay on track and keep the main thing the main thing.”

She describes herself as “an impressionist by heart,” adding, “My greatest inspiration comes from being around others who have a real passion for what they do. The greatest of these is Barry Thomas. He’s a master of color, light and shadow. He could have been a pro football player, but his coach, Lou Holtz, told him to follow his passion. He did, and has become a very successful artist, teacher and mentor.

“I have two critics that I always need to hear from --- my husband, Don, and my friend, Nancy Huff. I can always count on them to critique my work lovingly, but truthfully.”

“There are so many things that I would like to paint before my time is up,” she says,” but I would love to work on more landscapes. I have a thousand questions that I want to ask, and a thousand answers that I want to get.

“I can’t improve on God’s masterpieces, but I would love to try and capture some of it on canvas.”