Meet Little Rock-based Artist Marissa Thornberry

Marissa Thornberry is an oil painter and mixed media artist based in Little Rock, Arkansas. You can learn more about her on her website and on Instagram.

CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION: Where are you from originally, and what brought you to your current city?

MARISSA THORNBERRY: I’m from the boonies outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. After graduating from a small Christian college in southwest Arkansas, I moved to Honduras to work in youth ministry and ended up staying there for eight years. I arrived in Honduras as a single evangelical missionary and returned baptized, confirmed, and married in the Catholic Church. In 2023, I moved back to Little Rock with my husband.

How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist?

I see my artistic calling as a ministry of healing. There are so many hearts broken and hurting that hunger for beauty and hope. My work is to console those hearts and entrust them to our healing Lord, even in the midst of my own brokenness. While I don’t shy away from sharing about my faith, I don’t market myself as a “Catholic artist” because I don’t paint explicitly religious imagery and because I prefer to leave the interpretation of my work open-ended. However, I recognize that who I am and what I value on a personal level most certainly shows through in my art. I have found that many of the people who follow my work most closely don’t share my faith, but my work draws them in, and my prayer is that it serves as a magnet to attract people from all walks of life to Our Lord.

Where in your city do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?

I serve as a catechist at a primarily Vietnamese parish in Little Rock while attending a different parish in town. I have found great spiritual fulfillment in using my gift of teaching in service of the Church.

As artists, we have a particular gift of seeing beauty, goodness, and potential even in the darkest or smallest or most ordinary things, and I believe this is one of the reasons the Lord has called me as a catechist. I get to see and aid in bringing out that potential in my students. I also find it satisfying, after living abroad for so long, to be once again immersed in a new language and culture.

The interesting thing about Little Rock is that the parishes seem to all be intimately connected, so no matter what parish you go to, it won’t be long before you start developing friendships, or even serving, in other parish communities outside of where you regularly go for Mass.

How do you financially support yourself as an artist?

I am very fortunate to have a flexible part-time job assisting a few artists with their marketing efforts, which at the same time is teaching me how I can improve in my own art business.

I’m primarily working to build a presence and strategic funnels online, but I also use Zapplication to find juried shows and in-person events. As an artist working in one of the poorest states in the country, I would advise to not be afraid to go where the buyers are. Sometimes you’ll have to leave your immediate environment, especially if you’re in a small town or lower income area. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that what’s around you is all there is. The art market is alive and well; you may just have to travel a bit to find people who are ready to purchase from you.

How do you market your art and/or build a professional network as an artist?

Milan Art Institute has been by far the most helpful resource I have found as an artist. I took their Mastery Program, which includes a whole section on artist brand development and marketing. They also have an app called Milan Art where you can share your work, take classes, and connect with other artists.

Until now, I’ve primarily marketed my art on Instagram, at local events, and through my email list, but I am starting to take advantage of Pinterest marketing, which is a powerful tool for artists!

What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in your city?

I have had a positive experience with Buy Nothing groups on Facebook. You can use them to find anything from furniture to household needs to old newspapers or random “found objects” to use for your artistic projects.