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LANETT — Local artist Thea McElvy has given one of her paintings to the Lanett Senior Center. A portrait of Muhammad Ali she painted in 2017 will be displayed in the new computer lab in the L.B. Sykes complex. It’s a striking likeness to the famed boxer, who died in 2016. Also included on the portrait is a quote attributed to Ali: “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. Impossible is nothing.”

McElvy, who works in the utility department for the City of Lanett, brought with her some other paintings she’s done. One is of her father-in-law, Joe McElvy, with some of his Army buddies in a snowfall during the Korean War. Two other artworks depict Native Americans, one shows a chief and the other a mother and her child. Another painting depicts Eric Church playing a guitar.

McElvy has been into creating works of art since she was a little girl. Her mom, LaFaye McKay, had a big influence on her. “I did lots of pencil sketches before getting into wild colors,” she said. “Reality dictates what I put into my works.”

“Thea is also an excellent cook,” Senior Center Manager Sandra Thornton said. “We want to thank her so much for donating this beautiful work of art. It will have a special place in our computer lab.”