The Art of Glynda Turley Matters to the Heart
by Arline Chandler

Along a row of look-alike shops in Factory Shoppes at Branson Meadows, a simple sign proclaiming The Art of Glynda Turley belies the feast for artistic senses beyond its glass storefront. Step inside and imagine for a moment that you are the petite, internationally known Arkansas artist surveying colorful designs and poignant images on cozy cotton throws and plump pillows, candles, lamps, chests, and wallpaper. Let your eyes wander over romantic groupings of oil paintings and elegantly framed prints. Pause to pride yourself in the multiple creations that flowed from your heart through a paintbrush onto a canvas.

Then pinch yourself. That's what the real Glynda Turley does each morning--a reality check on her successful career. Touching the lives of others with her artwork remains the amazement of her life. "I'm astonished at how my paintings evolve into projects far beyond my original ideas," the unpretentious artist admits. "My designs on different products goes far beyond my childhood dream."

With a limited emphasis on her artistic talents from parents and school, Glynda studied life as she viewed it around her rural home in Ida, Arkansas. From her family's porch swing, she memorized the petals on her grandmother's roses and old-fashioned hollyhocks. The beauty of each blossom's color and dimension enchanted her. Today, the self-taught painter carries that childhood wonder into still-life florals and romantic cottages embraced by splendid gardens.

Glynda Turley designs are currently reproduced on keepsake boxes, tapestry wall hangings, linens, designer gift bags, note cards, soaps, candles, and needlework, to name a few products. J.C. Penny Company features her designs in their catalogs and stores in bedding collections with coordinating bath linens, lamps, wall borders, and rugs. In the Christian market, five companies license Glynda Turley designs. The body of work displayed in her Branson retail store swells from the inexhaustible artist's imagination.

From the beginning, Glynda built her career around her husband, Jerry, and their children. Honing her skills at a kitchen table with two toddlers tugging at her skirt, she persevered through years of teaching art in public schools and a private studio, packing herself and paintings off to weekend craft shows, and vying for honors in regional competitions. Her original oils of florals, country life, and gracious Southern scenes expanded into limited and open edition prints.

Eventually, the Turleys formed Glynda Turley Prints, Inc., a family-owned business venture. For key management positions, they hired the two toddlers who had grown to adulthood believing that all mothers meted out instructions with a paintbrush in hand. In a spacious modern plant in the shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain near Heber Springs, Arkansas, cousins, aunts, brother-in-laws, friends, neighbors, and former art students frame and ship Glynda Turley prints and products to stores and shops worldwide.

Yet, the crux of success for Glynda Turley is greater than international sales and recognition. "My motivation comes from collectors who look at my work and express a rekindled memory or a feeling of peace and joy," she says.

With a passion from her soul, she selects subjects that nurture good feelings and pleasant memories. In her "Secret Garden" series, three of her grandchildren playfully pretend under an arbor of trailing blossoms. In the background, sets a cottage similar to the Turleys' own Victorian home.

"Hand in Hand," features Glynda's daughter-in-law and her granddaughter, standing on a path in the midst of blooming azaleas. Three grandchildren pose in "Almost an Angel." Her husband and grandsons fish in one of Arkansas's premier trout streams in "Little Red River."

Glynda immortalizes, not only her family, but landmarks such as the Old Mill in North Little Rock, Arkansas, which is believed to the only remaining structure featured in the classic movie, "Gone With The Wind." Traveling numerous times to the site to capture its character and romance, the inspired artist produced scenes of four seasons in her "Old Mill" series.

"A Summer Stroll" calls back a genteel era with the "Villa Marre," a Victorian mansion built in 1881 in a Little Rock neighborhood. Television fans of the Sugarbaker Design Firm in the sitcom series, "Designing Women," recognize the fanciful structure.

"Remember When" captures the ambience of The Grand Village in Branson, Missouri as it might have been in an earlier time. Before opening her own store in Factory Shoppes at Branson Meadows, Glynda's paintings and prints exclusively decorated the walls of The Grand Palace in the entertainment city.

With an innate sense for beauty and meaning in her themes, Glynda listened intently to her Branson store's assistant manager, Mary Ann Miller. As Mary Ann displayed pictures of her family homeplace, a stately three-story mansion in Nevada, Missouri, she related how four generations had lived in the house built by her great-grandfather back in 1867.

In her creative mind, Glynda cataloged the history to produce "Ring Around the Rosy," adding her special touches to the nostalgic scene. Using her artistic license, Glynda suggests that the man in the horse-drawn buggy is Mary Ann's great-grandfather, Dr. Churchell. The woman on the porch typifies Mary Ann's mother.

Closing a circle of friendship, three little girls playing ring-around-the rosy in the front yard are Mary Ann, her best childhood friend, Gloria Alexander, who is manager of the Branson retail store, and Marci Boden, an assistant manager.

"Painting memories is my contribution to future generations," the caring and compassionate Glynda states. "Perhaps one day, grandchildren of my first students will look at my pictures and be inspired to appreciate the simple things in their Southern heritage."

The Art of Glynda Turley is located in the Factory Shoppes at Branson Meadows; 4354 Gretna Road; Branson MO 65616. Phone: 417-339-4197 or 1-888-4GLYNDA 4354

Photos by Arline Chandler

Copyright Arline Chandler