by Rachel Petty
Carey Malone poses beside a mural she painted outside The Candy Bar in downtown Carthage.
CARTHAGE, Tenn. — Local artist Carey Malone seems to quite literally be painting the town.
In recent weeks, murals have popped up all over Carthage, Tennessee, almost as if by magic.
A colorful group of balloons now decorates the white wall of The Candy Bar downtown. A sprawling menagerie of bright dogs, cats, and birds adorns the fence around the Dog House at the Smith County Animal Clinic.The front window at D&D Shoes & Boots has never looked more inviting. Students at Carthage Elementary are greeted daily by a hand-painted reminder to “Be the nice kid.”
The artist behind these magical murals is none other than New Middleton resident Carey Malone.
Carey’s mural at the Smith County Animal Clinic.
Carey is a Smith County native who graduated from Gordonsville High School in 2014. She then went on to receive a degree in Commercial Illustration from Nossi College of Art in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2018.
Since graduating from art school, Carey has jumped headfirst into a budding career as a self-employed artist.
“I paint and draw just about everything,” Carey told Smith County Insider.
“I’ve had a passion for art since I was a baby,” she continued. “In school, I just drew on everything and doodled. That’s what everybody in class knew me for. I was the kid who draws.”
Carey explained that school was where she received that first push to pursue her passion. Her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Griffin, encouraged her to take art lessons from Mr. Bill Reece. Carey considers Mrs. Griffin and Mr. Reece to be two of the people who have helped her most along the way.
She also gave credit to Mrs. Jenny Ford Penuel, the art teacher at Gordonsville High School. Carey said that Mrs. Penuel provided her with endless encouragement when she was first starting out and has also helped Carey find art jobs in the community.
When she looks to the future, Carey said her dream is to keep doing what she is doing now: supporting herself creatively and making money from her art.
“I would love to travel around and do murals,” she said. “I would love to decorate the United States, maybe go to other countries.”
Carey’s fascination with murals started when her uncle asked her to paint a forest on the walls in one of the rooms of his house. It was during that project that Carey discovered her love of large-scale work.
After painting that first mural, Carey began to take several smaller jobs, which eventually led to her biggest job to date—painting the entire lobby of Carthage Elementary School with inviting colors and positive messages.
One of Carey’s murals sends a positive message to the students of Carthage Elementary School.
Carey said that her goal is for the murals she paints to have a positive impact in the community. “I hope it creates a colorful environment for people to take pictures with, stuff that will just make people smile as they go through the town,” she said. “I want it to be a more positive place.”
On days when the bad in the world seems impossible to ignore, Carey hopes that her murals can create a beautiful distraction from the negative, even if only for a moment. She also hopes that her art can help small businesses by drawing the attention of the community.
When asked to give advice to other aspiring artists, Carey said, “Practice!” without hesitation.
Carey also revealed that quitting her retail job to pursue her art was one of the best things she had ever done, so she encourages aspiring artists to not let fear prevent them from doing what they love.
“Always take that leap of faith if something is telling you to do that,” Carey advised.
Her final words of wisdom were for other artists to utilize social media. That is how Carey gets most of her business.
You can find Carey online on Facebook or on Instagram at @careymalone.art. Her personal website is https://careymaloneillustr.wixsite.com/careymalone.
Carey is happy to take commissions, and price charts for her work can be found on her social media sites.
Carey is also the author of a children’s book inspired by her cat Carlita. You can purchase a 48-page, full-color illustrated copy of But Mommy Still Loves Me on Amazon here.
“I want people to understand that I do this for a living,” Carey said. She encourages readers to support local artists and local businesses because that makes the whole community a better place to live.
“Art brightens the world,” Carey said simply.
Carey’s art has certainly brought brightness to Smith County, and she shows no signs of slowing in her ambitions to paint the town, one mural at a time.
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