Art and Photography Blog

Photos of Mardi Gras 2013: Babylon, Chaos, and Muses

I am restarting my series on Mardi Gras 2013 in New Orleans. Babylon, Chaos, and Muses followed similar routes, one after the other and both went up Napoleon Avenue to St. Charles and on to Canal Street. Muses had a longer route and joined the others at Napolean. They were night parades.

The all male Babylon krewe was founded in 1939. The identity of the king is never revealed to the public. They had 21 floats and engaged flambeux carriers to light the way. The all male krewe of Chaos was organized in 2000 and presented 15 floats and also had flambeux carriers to light the way. Muses is an all female krewe founded in 2000 with over 1,000 members. It was the first all-female organization to parade at night in Uptown New Orleans. They had 26 floats. Their signature throw is a high heal shoe. We were fortunate to obtain one.

                                           

Three Paintings of Cajun Dancers

Here are three 16" x 20" acrylic paintings of Cajun dancers. I will attach them at the back and hang the set as one 20" x 48" painting. They are based on some photos I took at the French Quarter Festival I am doing a series of dancers moving to Les Freres Michot. I did a preview post of these paintings in progress earlier. 

I now an artist with the Arts Council of New Orleans and particpate in their monthy art market. These markets occur generally on the last Saturday at Palmer Park in New Orleans, at the corner of S. Carrolton and S. Claiborne. Saturday July 27 is the next market and I will have a booth and offer paintings for sale.

You can also purchase my paintings directly from me through the Web. I have shipped paintings as far as Australia. Contact me at [email protected] to discuss prices and logistics. 

Painting of Two Night Float Riders - Mardi Gras 2013

Here is a 20" x 20" acrylic painting of two flost riders from a night parade in Mardi Gras 2013. I now an artist with the Arts Council of New Orleans and particpate in their monthy art market. These markets occur generally on the last Saturday at Palmer Park in New Orleans, at the corner of S. Carrolton and S. Claiborne. July 27 is the next market and I will have a booth and offer paintings for sale. Since I arrived back in my hometown, I have been painting a variety of themes related to the city. 

You can also purchase my paintings directly from me through the Web. I have shipped paintings as far as Australia. Contact me at [email protected] to discuss prices and logistics. 

Photos of Our Brief Encounter with the 2013 Austin Music Scene

We recently stopped in Austin for two days on the way back from a family event in Dallas. I got introdcued the Austin music scene last year during SXSW (see - SXSW Notes: The Music Scene Part One: March 13). This time we enjoyed the music in Austin although it is a more limited palate than NOLA. We went to the Continental Club in the South Congress area twice. Here is the club and the vintage cars that are often parked out front. 

   

Here is the first band - a Texas honky tonk group, the Wagoneers, we heard on Sunday. 

     

Here is then an excellent old school blues band we heard at the Continental Club on Monday.

     

After the CC on Monday we discovered that Antone's, another old blues club, had moved from the 6th street area but found another club, The Thirsty Nickel, with a blues band, Sonny Wolf, on 6th street who I saw at SXSW last year (see below). The club Sonny played in last year, the Blue Moon, has also closed. It seems that blues is disappearing in Austin, at least in the 6th street area. Stevie Ray would not like it. Sonny was a Stevie Ray style player. We danced a bit to each band.

     

Here is Sonny in 2012 at the Blue Moon on 6th Street during SXSW. As mentioned ablove, the bar is now closed. 

   

Water Lilies in New Orleans City Park - Two

Here is a 16" x 20" acrylic painting of water lilies in the pond in City Park, New Orleans behind the NOMA. It is the second of two on this theme.

I now an artist with the Arts Council of New Orleans and particpate in their monthy art market. These markets occur generally on the last Saturday at Palmer Park in New Orleans, at the corner of S. Carrolton and S. Claiborne. Saturday July 27 is the next market and I will have a booth and offer paintings for sale. Since I arrived back in my hometown, I have been painting a variety of themes related to the city.

You can also purchase my paintings directly from me through the Web. I have shipped paintings as far as Australia. Contact me at [email protected] to discuss prices and logistics. 

Water Lilies in New Orleans City Park - One

Here is a 16" x 20" acrylic painting of water lilies in the pond in City Park, New Orleans in front of the NOMA. It is the first of two on this theme.

I now an artist with the Arts Council of New Orleans and particpate in their monthy art market. These markets occur generally on the last Saturday at Palmer Park in New Orleans, at the corner of S. Carrolton and S. Claiborne. Saturday July 27 is the next market and I will have a booth and offer paintings for sale. Since I arrived back in my hometown, I have been painting a variety of themes related to the city.

You can also purchase my paintings directly from me through the Web. I have shipped paintings as far as Australia. Contact me at [email protected] to discuss prices and logistics. 

Photos of Louisiana versus Texas BBQ

We recently drove to a family event in Dallas and then stopped at Austin for two nights of the music scene on the way back. Going there we stopped at Eddie's BBQ at a truck stop near Alexandria LA. We got pork ribs and chicken with two sides (see below) It had the traditional Southern sides: overcooked green beans :), mac and cheese, along with a LA addition, dirty rice and local option, potato casserole (like a twice cooked potato with cheese and bacon- really good).  Being that the crawfish were fresh in season we also got a pound of them. 

            

When in Austin we read about the Texas BBQ Trail and made a selection part of our return to New Orleans - Meyers' Smokehouse in Elgin Texas.  We got pork ribs, brisket, sausage (their speciality) with cole slaw and cream corn. See last two pictures. It has been around since the 1930s when Rudolph Meyer started making his sausages in the German style.

      

Both were really good. Despite all the hype, Eddie's was actually better except the ribs at Meyer's were slightly better than Eddie's. In LA there is the boudin trail but the state is left off the Southern BBQ trail for some unknown reason as the BBQ here is as good as anywhere. I guess I need to complain. You might like the site as it has the history of BBQ in every southern state except LA.  This needs to be fixed. 

 

Photos Ed Wills at BMC: Blues In New Orleans

Last month we saw Ed Wills play some great blues at BMC.  We have seen him many times and I feel he is the best blues man in New Orleans. There was a good crowd and Ed did a particularly high-energy set. He always plays from 8 to 10:30 without a break.  Last night the crowd especially got into it and there was a lot of dancing by the end, including us. Ed plays at BMC every Wednesday. I highly recommend it when you are in New Orleans. We are not alone in this appreciation, as the crowds are getting bigger every time we go.  Ed also plays elsewhere and we have seen him at Vaso.

Ed did some of the original material from his CD that I have, as well as his own take on Ray Charles, B. B. King, Bill Withers, and others. I highly recommend the CD and look forward to another CD. My favorites are The Rooster, his own version of a good blues theme about a barn yarn bad boy, and the title cut, Blues4Sale, as well as what I think is the best post-Katrina song, I’m Coming Home, about many of the wonderful things in New Orleans including his Mama’s home cooking. He said New Orleans is back where he belongs. I would agree. It is a theme song for me as I came back home to live here last Fall after being away too long. 

You can see scenes from the evening below. You can click on any image to make it larger. Then you have to go back in your browser to return to the post. Early in the evening, Ed invited a young friend up to play some guitar and the guy was really good. Half way through he had the sax guy from the following group, The Business, join him for a very long and intense Stormy Monday.  The last photo in the group below was taken at an earlier show. It inspired me to do the painting seen below.

          

After I finished the painting a few months ago, I shared a picture of it with Ed on my phone at one of his shows. He liked it and I sent a larger image through email. Ed was kind enough to post it on his Facebook page. In addition to being a great blues player, Ed is a really nice guy with a warm smile. Because he appreciated it so much I gave it to him last night. Here is his comment on his Facebook page with some more photos. I will always cherish his response and appreciation. We look forward to our next time at BMC.