Date:  July 1, 2023  |   Story: Stephanie Maxwell Newton  |   Photography: Courtesy of Holly Tilley  |  

Light bounces off the scarlet skin of a trio of apples in a still-life painting called “Beach Ready.” Maybe it’s the surf suggested by the painting’s title or the sand-colored backdrop, but one gets the sense the fruit is laid out on a blue-and-white beach towel somewhere warm, basking in the sun. This is due, no doubt, to the practiced hand of the artist, Holly Tilley.
As a primarily representational artist, Holly finds potential subject matter everywhere she goes. “I’ve found in the painting part of my life that the more you see, the more things become art to you,” she says. “So anything can be inspiration: the way light is spilling through a window onto a chair or the way a shadow hits an animal’s face. It’s just everywhere.”

Holly co-owns and manages Art Group Gallery, an artist-owned gallery in Little Rock where she works nearly every day in its shared studio. Here, she often paints from still life, studying the way light, shadow, shape, and color all play together to bring the piece to life. “I’m fed by working, by getting in front of the easel,” she says. “Once I’m in the middle of it, every painting is a field full of lessons. Painting is a lot of problem solving.”

Outside the studio, she’s constantly photographing and mentally cataloging details about landscapes, farm life, and local landmarks to return to later. One of her favorite places, Lake Ouachita, makes frequent appearances in her paintings. “We live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet,” she says. “There’s beauty in Arkansas everywhere you look.” Find Holly’s work at Art Group Gallery, and learn more at hollytilley.com and artgrouparkansas.com. The gallery’s current show, “France to Finish,” is on view through July 7.

Painting shown above: “Beach Ready” by Holly Tilley. 12” x 12” oil on panel