Back from the French Quarter!

No new art to post today but I just wanted to share some exciting news. I just got back from the French Quarter (yes, the one in New Orleans, LA) and have just placed some of my art in a gallery on Royal Street! The name of the gallery is The Great Artists' Collective, 815 Royal Street, New Orleans. This gallery is on the same block that I usually stay when I visit. Please stop in when you go.

And on a less happy note, the Rougarou Bayou Trading Post Gallery in the Riverwalk is closing at the end of the month. I went down there to pick up my art and was ecstatic when, at 8pm Saturday night, Sandy at GAC hung my paintings in her gallery! We celebrated at the top of Crescent City Brewery Restaurant with pie and ice cream that night!

Thanks for stopping by. If you are in the West Monroe area, please stop by the new Mystic Art Gallery at 229 Trenton Street on Antique Alley. Our Grand Opening will be May 5 from 4:30-7:30 and I hear the mayor is coming!!! Have a great day!

Exciting Gallery News

Man - it's been such a whirlwind month, but isn't that what they say about March (you know, with the winds and all). In early April, I joined and helped open a co-op art gallery in historic West Monroe - what we call "Antique Alley". There are lots of antique shops and trendy furniture and jewelry stores along the strip. We leased the building, repainted every surface and installed new lighting in a record 2 weeks. We now have a total of NINE artists in the coop gallery, and it opened Friday, April 1!




Our first "big" event is the Art Crawl this Thursday, April 7 from 5-9pm. If you are in the area, you do NOT want to miss this. It's at 229 Trenton Street, West Monroe, Louisiana

There is another gallery down the block from us that will also be open for the Art Crawl Thursday night. Come on out.

The following Saturday, April 9, the largest one day festival in Louisiana will be going on in Winnsboro. The Franklin Parish Catfish Festival will be celebrating their 25-year anniversary. Myself and three other artists have art hanging in the "Gone Fishing" exhibit at the Old Post Office Museum on Prairie Street. The show opened March 17 and not only has paintings, but has a custom made fish fountain, a handmade boat, and a wonderful display of trophy fish and related items from local fisherman and Franklin Parish residents. It's a wonderful show and perfect for the Catfish Festival. If you get out, please stop in the Museum. They have a boat and trailor used in the 1920 flood to ferry people out. What a treasure.

Here are some pics from the Gone Fishin' exhibit opening night.

Gone Fishin' - Art Exhibit in Winnsboro

I'm taking a break in between art commissions to photograph some of my new pieces for an upcoming exhibit. The above piece is called "Deep Water", 30" x 40" with gallery style molding.


Two weeks from tonight will be the opening of an art exhibit that I've been working hard on for the past several months! I will be exhibiting fish-themed art through the end of April. This group exhibit will be going on during the huge and famous "Louisiana Catfish Festival", so if you don't make the show opening, be sure to come to the festival. There are so many activities for the entire family - so make a day of it on Saturday, April 9.

The opening reception will be Thursday, March 17 from 5pm-8pm at The Old Post Office Museum, 513 Prairie St., Winnsboro, LA.

If you haven't found my facebook fan page - please see the sidebar. I'll be posting new work there from the exhibit in the next few weeks. Thanks for stopping by!

Louisiana Crawfish Gumbo

I'm working on new pieces for the Louisiana Catfish Festival in Winnsboro. I'll have work in a show at the Old Post Office Museum (it's awesome so don't miss seeing this place, plus there will be air conditioning). The show is called "Fish Out of Water", so all the work will be fish related. I couldn't resist doing the crawFISH above. I can't wait to share more of my work for this show. The show will start March 17, a few weeks before the Catfish Festival. The festival is April 9.

Below are a few pics of the February Art crawl and the six fabulous artists at Mystic Art Gallery.





I'm shipping new paintings to Rougarou Bayou Trading Post and Art Gallery this week. Check out the gallery if you are in the area. I'm sending Mardi Gras themed art. Also, check out my Etsy Store for more art. I just listed a BIG French Quarter painting and it was gone in a week. You never know when I'll add something new. Thanks for stopping by and check back soon.

New Art for the February Art Crawl

The Art Crawl was set for last week, but due to some icy weather, it was rescheduled for tonight. The Crawl info:

Time: 5pm-9pm
Where: Downtown Monroe
My art will be at Mystic Art Gallery at 137 Art Alley (formerly N. 2nd Street).


Here are a few peeks of my Mardi Gras art.

I couldn't do Mardi Gras without a new take on the Jazz Dog. This one is called "Krewe of Dachshund"



Mardi Gras Balcony. Size 11x14.



Beads on the lampost. You will see this all over the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. 11x14.




Another Mardi Gras Balcony painting. 11x14.


Thanks for stopping by. Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

New Art and Art News!

Gosh! My blog has been so badly neglected. I had well intentions on updating it about 3 weeks ago, but that was when my phase of "life interrupted" began!

We had a water pipe burst in our home two days after Christmas. So much for the Christmas after-glow! It has been 24 days since then and I've been forced to shove everything in the main living area of my house into boxes and out to the garage. I compare it to moving-without-notice, except that we haven't moved and everything is still in our bedrooms plus a whole-lotta-extra stuff. So..... today is the last day of the "restoration phase" if you call it. They are finishing up my new flooring today. Me and my husband repainted New Years Day. Talk about quick decisions on wall color plus floors. I hope I like my new house! What is exciting is that since everything has been moved out of the house, it gave me time to reflect how I want to set up my art studio - and I hope to streamline everything so its functionable and stylish. Crossing my fingers.

How about some art!!! This was a special commission from a high school friend for her niece, whose mother was also a high school friend. (are you confused?). She is a medical student at Tulane. She wanted a St. Charles Streetcar painting and she picked the colors. The number on the streetcar is actually the owner's birthday. And the verdict - they all loved it. I couldn't post it before Christmas because I didn't want to ruin the surprise. It's 4" x 3".






"930 St. Charles Streetcar"
Acrylic on Canvas, 4" x 3"
Artist: Melanie Douthit

I have some exciting news on the local scene. On January 1 I joined Mystic Art Gallery located in Downtown Monroe, along with 5 other artists. Our first art crawl together is Thursday, February 3 on Art Alley from 5-9pm. A few weeks ago we found a new and larger location for a studio just over the river from our present studio. We will be open during the week, as opposed to the current "by appointment only". I'll update soon with our name and exact location. Things are still in the works, but SO exciting.

So, please come out Feb 3 to the Art Crawl. I'm working on Mardi Gras themed art and won't post the images here until after the crawl. You will want to be the first to see the work, so come on out!

Tis the Season!

There are ten more days until Christmas!! I've been so busy these past two months that I've neglected my blog. Please, PLEASE remember to check on Facebook Art Studio Page for the most current information.

Here's a quick run down on life in my studio: Since the October Art Crawl, I've been busy filling orders for custom art. My newest French Quarter "color sketches" are the most requested pieces, and I have done them as small as 8" x 8" and as large as 4 Ft by 3 Ft. Feel free to contact me thru my Facebook Fan page if you have something specific you would like.

In addition to commission piece, I have TWO shows to get ready for in the next three months. More on that later! Meanwhile, how about some images of some of the most recent paintings?



This is another in my "Alice in Wonderland" series. Customer requested the name be customized for her girl, and the scene was one she specifically dictated. My daughter loved it, so I may have to do one for her.



I love doing paintings of Cafe Dumonde. This one is 8x10 with detail images done in dark brown with mahagony red gallery frame (sold).




This is a building on Royal Street, snatched up by private collector.



I have wanted to finally paint some shotgun houses in the color sketch style. I did this one last week and it was quickly snatched by one of my collectors. This one was 8x10. Detail was done in dark brown paint and the gallery framing is mahogony red.




Special commissioned piece of Pat O'Briens with "mardi gras" colors (to match the smaller ones she bought from me at the Art Crawl). Size is 24" x 30" with black gallery style frame. Looks awesome in person.




Another Pat OBrien's color sketch. Different angle, different colors. 8x10 - went to private collector.

Thanks for stopping by! Please, if you haven't done so, click the "like" button on my Facebook Fan Page so you'll be able to keep up with my latest posts. I have some EXCITING NEWS coming in January!!! Have a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year!