…One of the Strongest in the Country.
If you’ve never been to New Orleans, put it on your ever growing bucket list. Its art and music scene is unlike any other city. With talent lining each street, the walks are beautiful and the opportunity to stumble upon your favorite piece of art happens twice a minute.
In this city, re-built to its former glory pre-Katrina, there is a huge connected community that loves its home. The people embrace their art by adding it to every structure and avenue they have. I live in Philadelphia, home of the most murals in the U.S., and even I was impressed. Some of the stores had walls of art just to accent whatever they were selling. The photos below are from Sugar and Spice, its back wall setting the tone of the story. You can get the idea of what kind of city this is with beauty built into its walls.
Photo credit: Darian Muka
Photo credit: Darian Muka
In New Orleans, I met and interviewed two artists who loved their craft and worked hard to keep it their own. When I walked in to Adrian Fulton’s studio, I was happily full of gumbo and fried green tomatoes, just having an evening stroll. Seeing as it was a little after 10pm, Adrian’s windows were the only bright beacons on a long line of closed galleries. I peaked inside and saw him painting, his dog sleeping next to him. I walked in, trying not to disturb his concentration, but he was happy to have company. He was warm and inviting, telling about how much he enjoyed working and selling his art in this place, meeting people from across the country. Adrian is from Germantown, Pennsylvania, not far from where I live. He moved to New Orleans after joining the army, but he has been painting since he was four years old.
Untitled by Adrian Fulton
New Orleans renewed his inspiration, “The diversity and the French Quarter inspire me; it’s like an outdoor art market.” Adrian says that he enjoys being an artist for the economic independence, the daily freedom, and the respect. His most interesting patron has been Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he enjoys selling to all of his customers. I asked him which was his favorite out of the many many paintings in this studio, and he replied, “I have no favorite, because they are all my favorite.” If he ever leaves the studio, Adrian wants to become a mentor to other aspiring artists. In an ever-growing and re-building city like New Orleans Adrian says, “I enjoy helping people and being part of the solution.”
NOLA artist Chis Holcombe Photo credit: Darian Muka
Another local artist, Chris Holcombe, is not a native of New Orleans, but like many of the artists here, he came to love its art culture. Chris moved after a journey around the country, “Inspired by my introduction to Zen Buddhism, I left everything behind in search of my-self or no-self, however you like to put it.” Chris says he has always been an artist. He found that New Orleans was the type of city that had a strong art community at street level. “Here in New Orleans there is opportunity to do whatcha want under the sun with people — real people —unlike other places I’ve been where there is no social nucleus for the arts as concentrated as the Vieux Carré.”
"Corner Building of Rue Royal" by Chis Holcombe
Like Adrian, Chris wants to impact the world, and to him, being an artist is the best way to do that. It gives him the freedom to explore things like the universal body and the mind. Selling art is not in the big picture, although it is necessary, he more enjoys sharing it. “I may sell one painting today but a thousand people walked by and saw me painting in the alley, one feeds the soul and the other the belly.”
“Pirates Ally at Night” by Chis Holcombe
Chris doesn’t have a favorite piece. He thinks that his best is yet to come. I asked him who the most interesting character that he sold art to was and he was adamant, “Amzie Adams, without a doubt.” Adams is a nationally recognized artist. He was a jack of all trades in New Orleans for forty years with talents including poetry, acting, music and of course art. Chris enjoys art as well as poetry, so Adams was a real joy to sell art to. I asked Chris what he wanted to be doing in ten years— moving to a gallery, renting his own studio, selling online, enjoying selling to the people? He responded, “Everything, all at once.”
“Pirates Alley/ Faulkner House” by Chis Holcombe
I asked Chris about Pirates Alley, which was my favorite of the bunch. “I actually painted this from the view just down the street of the buildings and he Faulkner house. Go take a look, they’re really beautiful.” And off I went to check out the wonderful inspiration New Orleans could be.
My bucket list has been half checked off. I came home with art, but vowed to go back to New Orleans again, because the artists will change and evolve, the city will grow, but the community will stay strong. On a scale of one to holy-cow-that’s-a-lot-of-great-art, NOLA gets a ten.
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