Art and Photography Blog

Photos of New Orleans Neighborhoods Part Three: Lower Decatur Street Area

This is the third a series of images of New Orleans neighborhoods taken in February 2010 the weekend before the Super Bowl victory and two weeks for Mardi Gras. I certainly did not have time to cover them all but this series will provide a glimpse of the city that I hope you will want to visit.

This is a subset of the Lower French Quarter, the quieter part of the French Quarter.  On the lower end of Decatur there are some good bars and causal places to eat, such as Fiorella’s and Coops Place, that are much less tourist oriented than what you find in the upper French Quarter.  There are also some good coffee shops and late night places. It is close to the music clubs of Frenchmen Street. I also included the adjacent lower French Market.  You can click on an image to expand it. 

                           
 
 
 

Visit My Art Gallery at the Artsetter Online Gallery Site

Artsetter is a Paris based online art gallery. I have now been accepted as one of their artists. I had to go through a voting process and I appreciate those of you who voted for me.  Now I put up an initial gallery of 24 paintings. I will add more and perhaps some drawings and photos.

I encourage you to visit the Artsetter site and comment on my work as feedback is really appreciated. When you get to the site you can find my gallery under the gallery tab. For now it is listed in new galleries but that may evolve.

 Here is what I wrote in my profile. I paint with acrylics and also do simple line drawings. My focus is directly painting what I see. The goal is not photo realism but an integration of painting and seeing. I primarily do still life or painting from a model at the moment. I have experimented with landscapes from direct observation. I recently did a series on breakfast. These were done from photos. I do not go beyond what I see as I have always imagined paintings as I look at the world. Now I am having fun creating some of these images. I live and work in the Boston area (US) but also paint from my travels. I grew up in New Orleans and it remains a favorite place. I would like to paint there.

Here is a sampling of the initial works in the gallery. You can click on the images to enlarge them. 

                       
 
 
 
 

Acrylic Painting of Woman with a Maroon Hat

This is a 18" x 24" acrylic painting of a woman wearing a maroon hat.  The woman and the foreground were painted from life and I added a yellow background with an horizon to go with the landscape feel of the painting.

 

Acrylic Painting of Four Apples Resting on a Blue Cloth

Here is a 16" x 20" acrylic painting of four apples on a blue cloth. It was a quick sketch done in a few hours. I bought the apples first and then saw this blue cloth and felt they would work together. It is for sale at Artsetter.com. 

 
 

Artsetter's Online Gallery - Vote for Me to Join Thanks

I am asking you a favor in this post.  Artsetter is a Paris based online art gallery. I like their approach as they take the risk out for the buyer and the seller. When you purchase an art work, Art Setter holds the money through a French bank. Then the artist ships to the buyer. Once the buyer receives the art work, Artsetter release the money to the artist taking what is a very modest commission for the industry.  You are allowed to arrange your own gallery. They are also setting up a community as members can vote for and favorite other artists. Anyone can apply to join. 

I am trying to set up an online gallery for my art on the site. I have applied and now need 50 votes over the next 30 days. Can you vote for me? You have to first register at their site but it is quick and there is nice art by a number of artists. Here is the home page of the site.

My five paintings have been cropped by the site to fit a square format. They are actually all rectangles. However, once I set up my gallery I will be able to display the full painting. You can see the complete images of five I submitted below. You can click on any image to make it large.

Once you get to the site go to the candidates tab. Be patient it takes a few moments for the first one to appear. I have been coming up first as I was the last one when I last looked but someone may have come in after me.  In the case I do not come up first, scroll through the others to find my application.

There are quite a few excellent painters and photographers. I voted for a number of them myself.  This Is not a competition. You can vote for as many as you want.  Thanks for your consideration.  Let me know what you think.

         
 
 
 
 
 

Photos of New Orleans Neighborhoods Part Two: Lower French Quarter

This is the second a series of images of New Orleans neighborhoods taken in February 2010 the weekend before the Super Bowl victory and two weeks for Mardi Gras. I certainly did not have time to cover them all but this series will provide a glimpse of the city that I hope you will want to visit.

This is the quieter and more residential part of the French Quarter. It includes Dauphine and Burgundy, the streets on the lake side of Bourdon, as well as the part of the Quarter away from Canal Street and by Esplanade.  There are some clubs and eating places t are less tourist oriented than what you find in the upper French Quarter including my favorite bakery, Crossiant  D' Or. I start with a map of the area.  The last eight are from a trip in March 2006. You can click on any images to expand it.  

                       

      
         

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     

Photos of New Orleans Neighborhoods Part One: Upper French Quarter

This begins a series of images of New Orleans neighborhoods taken in February 2010 the weekend before the Super Bowl victory and two weeks for Mardi Gras. I certainly did not have time to cover them all but this series will provide a glimpse of the city that I hope you will want to visit.

I am starting with the most well known tourist area, the part of the French Quarter near Canal Street and the river.  It includes the party sections of Bourbon Street, the upscale shopping areas of Royal and Chartres, and the mix of shopping and eating on Decatur. These were mostly taken on a Sunday afternoon. There are street musicians, restaurants, stores, and much more I did not record. I the last four are from an earlier trip in April 2006.  On the same day I also recorded the Men in Dresses Celebrate the New Orleans Saints Going to the Super Bowl. The celebration was focused here as it is the most public part of the city. These pictures will also give you a sense of the partying crowds that can gather here.  You can click on any images to expand it. The last eight are from an earlier trip.

                              
        

       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Randy Jackson's Favorite Photography Blogs

Here is a great list of photo blogs from Randy Jackson (not relation the American Idol judge). It includes traditional photo blogs and ones geared toward Photoshop. I was pleased to find my Art and Photography blog mentioned. Randy writes the excellent blog, Random Thoughts of a Photographer, and it is one I follow. He describes his blog as “designed for and about what I call the "Intentional Photographer". That is a person that has been taking pictures for several years and has advanced through the point and shoot years, to their first DSLR, to a stage where they may be professionals and getting paid for their work. Or, they may be photographers that are right on the edge of going professional.” 

The latter is always an inspiration for me. I actually did some professional photo work years ago and successfully immigrated to Canada as a professional photographer when I was a graduate student since I could do it as a student. My immigration status as long since lapsed, as has my professional photo work but I hope to someday sell photos again. I mainly use photography now as subject matter for my painting but all photos on this blog are also for sale.

Randy’s blog has a lot of useful information beyond this list. There are also some great images that he has taken. Many are excellent landscape with good light effects. It is worth looking at.

 

Paintings of American Breakfasts - Take Six

Here is a 18" x 24" acrylic painting of an American breakfast with bacon, egg over easy and a roll. It is the seventh in a series on Breakfasts in various places. This is the first one I cooked but I have eaten all of them, except two that my friend Don Lesser ate.