New Orleans
I’m a native New Orleanian. I grew up in an environment immersed in history, nature, the arts and family which combined to provide me with a unique vision. I experienced a sense of connectedness to place at an early age. Each of my paintings tells a story about the place I called home.
First Line Oil - 20” x 24”
Playing a very important role in the brass band is the grand marshal, who may be a band member or a member of the same social or benevolent club as the deceased. His demeanor – head erect, expression solemn, dressed in a black tuxedo, while gloves, black hat held respectfully in his hand, a stuffed white dove of peace on his shoulder while taking slow but measured steps – is crucial to the dignity of the procession on the way to the gravesite. On the return journey that announces to the community the good news that another soul has gone on home his jauntiness and energy set the tone for the band and the dancing second-liners alike.
Swan Song for the Jazzman Egg Tempera - 24” x 30”
I was originally trained in the performing arts of gymnastics, dance and music. I ‘retired’ from all the performing arts as I was completing my baccalaureate degree in Fine Art and nearing the end of my apprenticeship with Bob Rucker. Several years into my art career jazz trumpeter Dee Dee Pierce passed away and I decided to attend his funeral. The ensuing series of paintings depicting the jazz funeral began and has been executed over a period of years. The paintings were not only an homage to Dee Dee and documentation of a cultural experience but were also a posthumous wake for my musicianship. The most symbolic of all the paintings for me is the egg tempera, “Swan song for a jazzman” which depicts the discarded umbrella used at the funeral and represents the transmutation of my art.
Éclairs Watercolor - 11” x 14”
McKenzie’s bakery products were a fixture in my home. My Dad use to bring Lady Fingers and Chocolate éclairs to his Mom on his weekly visits and would always bring home treats to us.
During my full time art career, I had a situation arise that required more than usual effort to keep the cash flow positive. One of my closest friends offered me a job working in his furniture restoration shop. It was an hourly position with some time flexibility which allowed me to teach drawing and painting classes at a private art school, and work on my paintings “in between.”
My Dad loved wood working. He would stop by the shop occasionally and see what we were doing. My Mom told me that it upset him to see me working there, even though it was necessary and honorable, he felt it was a waste of my talent.
One day he came by while we were in the finishing room. We were a mess. He didn’t stay long, but came back and dropped off a box from McKenzie with 2 éclairs. Denis and I stopped and ate them It was the best éclair I ever had. We sat for a moment and as I looked at the white empty box it was no longer empty, but full of a father’s love.
Yellow is Her Favorite Color Oil - 12” x 12”
My wife tends to our landscape and garden. She had Camellias planted on one side of our house. When the bushes were in full bloom she would bring in cuttings for us to enjoy. While painting one of her camellias the blossom and the background struck me as symbolic of her, since yellow is her favorite color.
Buck’s Bayou St. John -Oil on panel 22” x 34”
This is a recreation of a Buck painting I executed in his style. The location is at ‘old Spanish fort’ at the time when it was a resort area.