Miss Kimberly II, ICY, LA

A couple of weeks ago I headed out with my painting buddy, Denise, to find and paint shrimp boats in Intracoastal City, Louisiana.  This is the 3rd year we invade upon the little canal to sneak in sessions of painting boats.

Located in Intracoastal City are these massive offshore shrimp boat giants docked up and down the canal near a shrimp and ice plant.  Usually when we paint in this area 6 or 7 boats are docked here.  I was elated and amazed when I rounded the curve and found about 30 boats parked in the area.  These boats were all crowed in together, two abreast all up and down the canal.

It is between shrimp season, so the boats are docked for a few weeks while the owners and crews make repairs, paint, and get ready for the upcoming season.

While we sat there painting we watched an awesome boat maneuver.  One of the inside boats wanted to get out, and the boat on the outside needed to be moved.  Evidently, the outside boat engine was having some sort of problem and the canal was shallow on that end, so a tug boat was called.  The tug pulled this huge boat out sideways and backed up with it down this canal between all these other boats....AMAZING to see.  Glad I wasn't painting the boats they moved...he he.

Below is my completed painting.  Green boats were a huge challenge in the landscape for me.

Miss Kimberly II

12 x 12 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

*This painting is for sale and can be purchased through my website...www.mariarandolph.com

St. John's Cathedral & Cemetary

I headed out last week to meet my painting buddy, Denise Broussard, in Lafayette, LA for an afternoon of painting.  We decided on St. John's Cathedral and I was particularly drawn to the back of the Church with the graveyard beyond the iron fence.

St. John's Cathedral & Cemetary

10 x 8 - oils on canvas

*This painting can be purchased on my website www.mariarandolph.com

Okay so of course I have a story about this cemetary.  The cemetary lies behind the church and is next to Cathedral-Carmel School.  

When my father, who was one of eight children, was a young boy in first grade he and his older sisters would walk to school every day through the graveyard.  My dad was very afraid of the nuns who taught school at Cathedral. He talked his older sister into letting him hide in the graveyard every day so he didn't have to go to school.  She agreed.  Every morning she would drop him off in the graveyard, sneak out of school at lunch time to check on him then pick him up on their way home from school.  This went on for almost a year.

How did he get away with this for so long you are probably wondering.  Well, with 8 children and work, things must have been really hectic in their household.  His older sister signed his report card and when the school finally called his parents they all got caught.  He ended up having to repeat the first grade and was in a whole lot of trouble.  

At some of our family functions, my aunts used to tell the story and laugh about how T-Man (his name was Manuel) swung from the graveyard for almost year until they got caught.

Sans Souci Gallery Painting in Downtown Lafayette

I met a friend for a quick painting session in Downtown Lafayette.  We met at the Sans Souci park and decided to paint from within the park.  I decided on a view of the corner with the little Sans Souci Gallery artsy sign hanging out front.  I love what the gallery has done to the old building.

Sans Souci Gallery

12 x 12 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

*This painting is for sale and can be purchased from my website www.mariarandolph.com

As always when painting outdoors there are many challenges to be had.  The greatest one I experienced today is that there was a parking spot in the driveway of the gallery that several people wanted which would have totally obstructed my view of the scene.  I asked them to please not park there and they ALL graciously moved.  Thank you to all of those people..:)

Years ago, this building was once was an old bookstore called "Sans Souci Bookstore".  It was painted white, and in really bad shape.  My Dad was into photography back in the day and he snapped a picture of an old man sitting on the steps of the bookstore.

Keller's Bakery

I headed out to meet a friend for an afternoon painting in Downtown Lafayette.  We decided on Keller's Bakery and because of the weather, thought we would not paint but just sit and sketch...then the sun began to peek through.

I setup and was about to start painting when the sun began beaming through and I was in the direct sunlight, so I moved and hid behind a building across the street from Keller's.  

Our husbands were coming to meet us later to enjoy dinner at a local restaurant so I didn't get to complete this painting on site; it was completed in my studio.

 Keller's Bakery

12 x 16 - oils on canvas

This bakery is an icon in Lafayette and has been around for many years.

Below is an excerpt from an article about Keller's Bakery on the Lafayette Travel website.  For then entire article go to: 

http://www.lafayettetravel.com/food-tours/kellers-bakery

Keller's Bakery

Hardships befell the Keller family as they settled in south Louisiana in the late 1800s after fleeing from France. Keller’s Bakery was opened shortly after, in the 1890s, by Jean-Pierre Keller. They have had multiple locations over the years, from New Orleans to Abbeville, but the only two remaining locations are both nestled in the Lafayette area. Many of the recipes they use today that have been passed from generation to generation are unchanged, some dating back over a hundred years.
At Keller’s you’ll find the traditional sweet treats and delicate pastries you’d expect from a French bakery, but you’ll also find savory filled pies featuring some of the most prized assets of the region, crawfish. Keller’s sells some of the best King Cakes in the area and once you’ve had one, you won’t want to wait a whole year for another. Keller’s busy season lasts from about October through June and their pastries play an integral part in holidays for many Louisianans throughout the south. Stop by Keller’s Bakery while you are downtown and see what the tradition is all about.

Owner: Kenneth Keller
Address: 1012 Jefferson St., Lafayette
Phone: (337) 235-1568
Website: www.kellersbakery.net
Hours: M-Closed, T-Sat 6am-5pm, Sun 7am-2pm

Shadows on the Teche

I'm very excited to have been selected as one of the 30 artists to paint in the Shadows on the Teche juried competition fundraising event the week of April 11-18, 2015 in New Iberia, Louisiana.  How exciting to see so many artists painting together for this fundraising event! If you are out and about, please stop by to say hello.

Below is the event article from the Baton Rouge Advocate:

Plein Air art contests, demo set to benefit Shadows-on-the-Teche

Advocate file photo --Thirty artists have been chosen for the inaugural Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air Competition from Saturday, April 11, through Saturday, April 18.

Advocate staff report

NEW IBERIA — Thirty artists have been selected for the inaugural Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air Competition, scheduled from April 11-18 at the Shadows-on-the-Teche Visitors Center.The list includes artists from across the state, one from Minnesota and one from Ukraine (though living in New Orleans): Richard Abraham, Hilari Baranco, Ben Bensen, Denise Broussard, Chuck Broussard, Susan Clark, Ronnie Collins, Ronald Cutrera, Tony Cutrera, Darnelle Delcambre, Claude Ellender, Oksana Fogg, Bob Graham, Carol Hallock, Peggy Hesse, Ken Hopel, Kay Jeansonne, Harold Letz, Joyce Linde, Kaori Maeyama, Margaret Melancon, Renee Mitchell, Mary Monk, Louis Morales, Rock Perkins, Maria Randolph, Ann Sutton, Garth Swanson, Peg Usner and Gwen Voorhies.Artists will meet at the Shadows Visitor Center on April 11 to have their blank canvases marked with the official Shadows Plein Air dated stamp before heading out into the town and surrounding area to paint. There is no limit on the number of works they can produce between April 11-16, when they will submit their two best to be judged by New Orleans-based plein air artist and instructor Phil Sandusky.The works submitted for judging will be exhibited at Clementine Restaurant in New Iberia for the gala/auction on April 18, where competition winners will be announced and prizes awarded. These paintings will be sold by live and silent auction with Scott Angelle serving as guest auctioneer.Tickets for the Plein Air Gala/Auction are $50 per person and are available at the Shadows Visitor Center.On April 16, Sandusky will provide a public plein air painting demonstration. On April 17, interested artists of all ages can participate in a Paint Out in the Shadows Gardens from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Works will be judged and awarded ribbons and be put on display at the Shadows Visitor Center.Proceeds will benefit art classes at the Shadows-on-the-Teche in memory of its late owner, Louisiana artist Weeks Hall.For information, call (337) 369-6446 or email shadows@shadowsontheteche.org.

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Tugboat on the Vermilion River

My husband and I often go riding around taking pictures (he indulges me), so I can have pictures to paint from in my studio.  We were down south of Abbeville, Louisiana at a place called Bancker Grotto.  The grotto is a memorial park whose grounds are along the Vermilion River.  There is a walkway that runs along the river from the grotto to the adjacent graveyard.  It was getting late, sun was setting and the mosquitoes were getting active so we were hurrying through when I spotted this tugboat coming down the river and snapped a few quick shots as it passed.

"Tugboat on the Vermilion River"

12" x 12" - oil on gallery wrapped canvas

*This boat painting is for sale and can be purchased on my website (http://mariarandolph.com/workszoom/1726801)