New Orleans, Music and June

The calendar pages just keep turning faster than I can catch my breath.

(Warning - long post with lots of photos!!)

 I'm still filling orders from before summer started and trying to keep up with art for the galleries. The month started off teaching and art class to a great group of young artists. We studied Van Gogh.

Then one night my hubby wisked me away to Boston! (Not the city - the BAND!)

 I still can't believe we got to hear them in person. This was in Jackson, Mississippi.

The next week, we sent my daughter to camp. Hubby and I packed the dog and our two bicycles and went to New Orleans for a week. We stayed in an adorable shotgun house on Dauphine in the Marigny District that we found on www.vrbo.com.

It was about 8 blocks from the French Quarter, where we rode our bikes to every day. We walked to Frenchmen Street (4 blocks) every evening to stroll from one Jazz club to the next to enjoy the best music in a very artsy, bohemian setting. We couldn't wait until Thursday when the Frenchmen Street Art Market opened. We have always loved that place.

One night our friends from Covington drove down and took us to the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone on Royal. We took photos in the carousel mirror and saw strange images in the reflection. (haunted??? hmmmmm) Then we strolled a few doors down and heard Washboard Chaz  - you just really never know who you will see and hear when in the Big Easy.

We visited the French Market one morning and almost rode our bikes into the live shooting of a new HBO show called "Quarry". It's set in the 70's - so our modern bicycles would have been out of place in that scene. I still can't believe when I heard a man's voice say "Can you stop?", that I actually replied "Why?".... when normally I would have peddled faster. He replied "Because they are shooting.." and I turned and said "Like....bang...bang??" lol. We toured the inside of the St. Louis Cathedral (yes, air conditioning!) and ate breakfast on cute bistro tables on street corners.

We met this book author at the French Market.

Hubby hired this street poet to write a poem to me on her non-electric typewriter. What a teasure!

Sandra and her daughter that own Cajun Corral Farm at the Frenchmen Street Art Market. I bought the nicest goatmilk tropical scented lotion from her.

We had a romantic dinner at Adolfo's next to the Frenchmen Street Art Market on our last night. Then headed home the next day to pick up our daughter from camp!!

 She was there with several friends from the youth theater, but she met several new friends as well.

She was awarded a Craft Award from her craft teacher, Missy Robertson (yes, the one from Duck Dynasty), and her other teacher was Mrs. Howard (Korie's mom)

My Happy Camper!!

One wonderful summer month - almost over. Ready for the next adventure. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to follow me at Melanie Douthit Art Studio on facebook - or on Instagram at DouthitArt

Have a great day.

Gone Duck Wild!

If you are a Duck Dynasty fan, you know that it is filmed in Louisiana. Even more, it's filmed in my own town. Not that this has ANYTHING to do with this painting - it just LOOKS like it was influenced by the show. In fact, right after Christmas I was contacted by a friend overseas (yes, she lives in Europe) about a special painting for a gift. She didn't need it for a few months, and so it helped me get even more inspired when Duck Dynasty started coming on A&E.

Here's my "Duck Decoy" painting. It's 48" x 24. The ducks in the water are decoys, with the ducks flying in. I love the way the sunset sparkles on the water.

I'm working on brand spanking new art for an upcoming solo show! I'm so excited. If you haven't found my page on facebook, please "like" it and keep up with my sneak peeks!

I will try to update here more frequent than I have. I can't believe this month is almost over! Thanks for dropping by.

Homegrown Celebrities - Duck Dynasy

I'm taking a swerve from the topic of art to share about one of our family's favorite new TV shows, Duck Dynasty. Duck Dynasty is filmed in our small-ish community, and so many of the places used for filming are places we are very familiar with. We sometimes see friends of ours in the scenes. The show is about a 30+ year old family-run business making duck calls. Yes, duck calls. For those of you that may not be from a hunting community, hunting is big - VERY big in Louisiana. I have heard women talk about being "hunting widows" when hunting season starts. I have been fortunate that my hubby hasn't been bit by the hunting bug, but I'm secretly envious of those that have a freezer full of venison in the fall. :)

So, if you get a chance, tune into A&E on Wednesday evenings at 9Central time. It's all FUN. Most of what you see is not really "reality" (they didn't really buy that vineyard), but it's so funny to watch because you never know what they will say.

The Robertson's family (the Duck Dynasty people) spoke at their local church recently and invited visitors to "Camo" day. I took my daughter who was so happy to be there. She met them and had a photo autographed.

 

My daughter with Willie and Korie Robertson from Duck Dynasty.

May is going to be a busy month. Tomorrow night I'm attending an art auction for a local medical service clinic. I've donated a large 30" x 30" painting that will be used as a door prize. This was inspired by my recent trip to New Orleans.

 

I have one more event to attend in the next 10 days that will be quite fun, then I'm off to Dallas on May 19 for a huge art crawl. If you are in the Dallas area, check back for more details!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!