Mary Frances Kelly Poh

Mary Frances is a member of the HQ Gallery in Benicia California, the California Watercolor Association, Arts Benicia and the Embroiderers' Guild of America. 


She began doing Needlepoint in 1971 and later took up Cross stitch which she did for a number of years, but never lost her love of needlepoint.


Mary Frances stitches almost exclusively using various silk and metallic threads. She specializes in color and decorative stitches. She uses designs by leading designers and her own designs. Mary Frances designs purses and plaids. Following her career as a registered nurse, Mary Frances was able to focus on her love of needlepoint and cross-stitch. She creates exquisite and meticulous designs, which take 4-6 months to complete, and garner many awards.


She has always loved art and has taken various art classes in college. Mary Frances wanted to be able to use her art to design special needlework designs. She attended Solano Community College and took watercolor classes and also drawing classes from Larnie Fox at Arts Benicia. She started taking watercolor classes from Samantha McNally. and has started painting larger paintings.


Her artistic journey further evolved through drawing and watercolor classes and she creates stylistic compositions in mixed media. A sampling of works by the multi-talented Mary Frances are featured at HQ Gallery, and previewed here.

Sometimes Mary Frances uses her talents in needlework and watercolor to make artwork of the same design in both.