ScholarWorks@UNO

French Quarter Musician

This painting is titled "French Quarter Musician" which I have completed as part of the Tolmas Scholars program for Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE). My objectives for the PURSUE program were to paint a series of portraits that depict a sense of community in New Orleans while exploring different styles of painting. However, due to leaving New Orleans early into the program because of Covid-19, I worked from the few pictures I took of strangers on the street along with a portrait of an old friend attempting to capture their energy upon first meeting. First impressions tend to give a glimpse of the surrounding community. I met the "French Quarter Musician" as he was playing a bluesy melody, and when asked to take his picture and to stand however he wanted to, he began to play his trumpet again. In the painting, I chose an abstract approach based on the style of Jordan Casteel. While my painting does not resemble Casteel’s work a great deal, I followed a thought process of painting shadows and highlights in sections of solid color without blending, as her work tends to also do. I also used a color palette of warm deep colors ranging between purples and oranges while highlighting with a cool lavender hoping to capture the energy his bluesy melody was surrounding him with. I steered away from the main color palette when painting the trumpet to draw the eye near the center, leading to his face and hand.