New Orleans 2018: Art

Outer Journey

Art is not only a way to express yourself, but it is also a way life life, especially in New Orleans. You walk down the street and you see thousands of art pieces. Whether its acrylic, pastels, water color, or oil, you see it all. Not only do you see local art, you also see street art and art done by professionals. On Royal street I saw at least 5 galleries and I got the chance to stop in at least one. As soon as I walked in I saw the most vibrant red you could ever see. It was almost as if the entire painting was real like or possibly a real photograph. The painting I saw Was that vibrant red as the sky reflecting into the water, making the entire background that color of red. There was a bright blue boat that stood out in that red background and it was one of the best paintings I have ever seen. It was simple yet so busy and I loved it. I used to do art as a kid and a part of me wish I could still paint well because I could only imagine if I ended up being decent and millions of people would just stare at my work. This specific piece of art was done by Denis Lebecq. He has grown up near the sea and has always been fascinated by it. His art is presumed by his love for the sea and has a prominent technique. His paintings are created by using a mixture of oil, acrylic, and asphalt, and using the palette knife. He tries to express the feelings that nature and life can generate by emphasizing the strength of the gesture and reflecting intensity through the amplification of color. To achieve his desired amplification of color, her rubs each partially dry canvas with newspaper and adds another layer of the paint and asphalt blend repeating the process a total of five times. His passion for color is presented by the contrast of subtle grays in his palette. He says that all his colors have a sincere connection but at the same time, an independent life. He says the bright reds are like blood, the yellows are not bright, they are sunny, and the light grays are voluptuous. He creates a subtle gentle color and also a violent color that expresses meaning and feeling to the imagination, allowing it to feel however the person looking at the painting feels. Lebecq hopes that the vision of his paintings gives people as much pleasure as it gave him when he created them. In all honesty I could have sat and stared at this painting all day. I could not believe how much emphasis of color he portrayed. I also didn’t even know you could use asphalt when painting! I guess that was the most interesting piece of information I learned when looking him up. I could don’t get a direct photo of his work because it was not allowed. I however did look up some of his work online.

Painting displayed in gallery

Denis Lebecq's gray piece

Yellow piece

Inner Journey

When visiting all the different galleries, I never really felt anything at first, but when I saw painting of dogs, my heart and face lit up like a Christmas tree! While being away from home I started missing my pets dearly. Not only do they have paintings of pets in galleries, they also have local artist paintings of animals too! When I saw them I felt so happy and relieved for a second because it was taking my mind off of something I missed so much at home and all of my attention was on the paintings. I did not get a picture the the art gallery itself or the paintings because when we were walking by, Char tried taking a picture and a lady ran to the front and scared her because we didn’t know you weren’t allowed to take photos. Besides the paintings of the animals, I did find another painting I liked. It was in the same gallery as Denis Lebecq’s paintings were in, except this painting had glitter on it. Yes, I said GLITTER! When I saw the glitter I felt slightly honored I got to see something so amazing. The gentleman working at the gallery said that that specific painting of Audrey Hepburn was selling for $27,000! I honestly didn’t know art could be sold for that much. I love glitter to no end and I was so extremely happy when I found a painting that had expressed my personality. I could relate to it more and it made me love it even more. It was not only glittery; it was also kind of like a throw-back. This artist mimics the old op art and uses it to add his own, sassy flare. Andy Worhol is the main artist that started the pop culture of art. His is mostly known for his Campbell Soup painting and this artist by the name of DeVon. He has also done the Campbell Soup painting but added his own flare to it and has modernized it. It makes me feel sassy when looking at it because its original but completely different and I admire different things and different people. IT makes life more exciting. DeVon seeks to connect with his audience by using vibrant colors, just like Lebecq. I am very intrigued by the vibrant colors because it makes them one of a kind and stand out. I find myself to be just like the painting sometimes because I am my own unique person but I also have a trait everyone else has. In a way I think art can really bring out someone’s personality because when you paint you are channeling your inner self and showing everyone who you really are. This artist has extreme talent and if I had the money I would definitely purchase many of his paintings. I would love to have the painting of Audrey Hepburn (glittery one) because it would go great with my room but I don’t have $27,00 just sitting around! I could not even find photos of the paintings online! I did find one of his superhero ones though.