Our Artist Loft Suites at the Old No. 77 Hotel feature works by talented local and regional artists, each piece chosen to inspire and connect. Below, meet the brilliant minds behind the art, bringing the spirit of New Orleans to life in every stroke and sketch.
I studied visual arts at both Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design and went on to earn an MFA from the Maine College of Art in 2008. I moved to New Orleans the summer of 2010, and I've been smitten with it ever since. My paintings are primarily made with oils, often mixed with a cold wax medium that allows me to achieve a thick texture and build up of palette knife strokes. The subject matter of my paintings represent a range of imagery associated with New Orleans. Much of my work engages with the idea of personal and cultural roots, whether they are second lines, bike trails, or river transportation. My painting style is the notion of art as a product of both a literal and cultural derive, and what better place to wander within than New Orleans!
My favorite subject as a painter is musicians, which merges two of my greatest passions in life, music and art. I draw inspiration from the collaboration and improvisation of the New Orleans music scene, feeling it to be an invisible thread that draws the entire city together. My choices for portraiture are not limited to the most established musicians among the scene, but also include newly emerging talent and those lesser-known artists who have found their unique voices with unconventional instruments or approaches to playing. My other forms of art include murals and signage around the city, such as the mural in the lobby of The Old No. 77 Hotel, behind the bar at Compere Lapin, and the wayfinding throughout the hotel. All completed when the hotel first opened in 2015.
I started painting in the summer of 2012. I had just started dating my now-wife, Georgia, when Hurricane Isaac rolled through New Orleans. We lost power and went through our board games, so she suggested we paint. I had never drawn or painted in my adult life, but I didn't want to seem like a stick in-the-mud, so I painted. And I loved it. I have painted like a man possessed ever since. Because I'm self-taught, my style is evolving as I grow as a painter, but I always try to keep my paintings colorful and expressive. My work has been displayed at numerous exhibitions, galleries, and museums in New Orleans and was part of a feature story for a local news affiliate.
