Architecture
Since the 17th Century many cultures have contributed to form Louisiana's rich architectural heritage. Louisiana architecture has been influenced by French, Spanish, American Indian, West Indies and English/American cultures. I have been fascinated by the various architectural styles since before I was in high school.
Pitot House Watercolor - 10” x 14
The house is named for James Pitot, the fourth owner of the house who resided there from 1810 to 1819. Pitot is considered to be the first “American” mayor of New Orleans (1804–1805).
The house was saved from destruction by the Louisiana Landmarks Society in 1964 and restored to its original splendor, showing the double-pitched hipped roof, and the plaster-covered brick-between-post (briquette-entre-poteaux) construction.
L’Hermitage Limited edition print - watercolor
L'Hermitage is a Greek Revival plantation home. Marius Pons Bringier commissioned the home to be built as a wedding gift for his son, Michel Douradou Bringier (1789–1847), in 1812. Michel Bringier served at the Battle of New Orleans (1814–15) during the War of 1812.
L'Hermitage was named after General Andrew Jackson's home in Nashville, Tennessee. General and Mrs. Jackson visited here in the 1820s.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was restored by friends of the artist
The Farm Oil - 14”x 18”
A unique surviving example of a Gothic Revival farmhouse was built in the 1870’s. The house incorporates elements of the earlier Georgian style (center hall symmetry) with the Gothic elements of gable vents, tulip motif brackets in the gables and porches. My wife and I saved and restored this building between 2000 – 2005 to it’s original structural integrity and appearance.
Summer Preserved Limited edition print - egg tempera
On a bright sunny day my agent took me out to the country near French Settlement, Louisiana to meet someone. The man I met was a veteran of the Spanish American war who was disabled but self-sufficient. Rome B. was living alone in a mid-19th C farm house that he and his sister inherited from their parents. The house had no electricity or indoor plumbing and was like visiting a time capsule. The property was a cornucopia of subject matter. The kitchen pantry was full of jars containing vegetable preserves that Rome’s sister had been ‘putting up’ after each season for a couple of years before her passing. I stood in the pantry and was struck by the variety of produce that came out of their garden. The jars contained the bounty of the summers, preserved with a sister’s love.