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Jadelia Ealey sits in her studio surrounded by her paintings Wednesday in Natchez. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

One of Jadelia Ealey's paintings of Bob Marley, who she said is one of her favorite people to paint. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

One of the recent paintings done by local artist Jadelia Ealey. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Jadelia Ealey sits in her studio surrounded by her paintings Wednesday in Natchez. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Jadelia Ealey holds a self portrait in her studio Wednesday in Natchez. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

A painting with her Jadelia Ealey's signature sits on an easel her studio Wednesday in Natchez. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Several of Jadelia Ealey's paintings sit near each other in her studio Wednesday in Natchez. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ — Jadelia Ealey said she has been drawing her whole life, but only in the last year did she take up painting.

Ealey said even on her worst days she could paint. It has a way of calming her down and completes her day.

“My mind is totally focused on the painting,” Ealey said. “When I’m drawing or painting, my mind is blank. If I’m hungry, I wouldn’t even notice that until my work is completely finished. I don’t take breaks. I can just draw and paint for hours.”

While Ealey is a self-taught artist, she said she grew up watching her brother, Jonathan Stampley, draw and credits a lot of her inspiration to him. Ealey said she mainly likes to paint portraits and faces of people and has sold to a lot of clients in Natchez.

Last summer Ealey was painting every day because of the amount of orders she was receiving but this summer things have started to slow down.

“I haven’t really expanded out of Natchez with my work,” Ealey said, “but it seems like everybody ordered last year and a lot of people ordered work for their dorm rooms.”

Because of school, Ealey also works in Hattiesburg but Ealey said she has plans of entering a shows in Atlanta and Houston next summer.

While this summer might be a little bit of a slow season in comparison to last summer, Ealey shows no signs of abandoning her dreams.

Ealey said her first art professor David Wilkinson told her something that has resonated with her as she continues to fine tune her skills and pursue her passion.

“He told me that the best thing about painting and drawing is you continue to get better at it,” Ealey said, “so you never want to stop, and you’re never at your best because you continue to develop more ideas and new skills.”

For more information you can reach Ealey or check Instagram at @bellejne or Facebook: Jadelia A. Ealey for information on pricing and commissions.

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