oa

The fleur de lis is nothing new or unusual in New Orleans, but after Hurricane Katrina residents adopted it as a symbol for the city. Businesses went out of their way to include it in their logo or put it in ads. It became a popular symbol used on everything imaginable.

One banner I first noticed, at an art market, said “Louisiana Recover Rebuild Rebirth.” It had a yellow fleur de lis, white lettering and a blue background. But the color blue I picked for this painting came from the blue tarps that people had on their houses after the storm. I inquired about a blue tarp for mine, but I was advised that I did not need it and that adding it would probably create more damage. Fortunately for me I had very minor damage.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Shortly after creating this painting, I learned that blue and yellow together was a very French combination. I was with my family at restaurant called Château du Lac. The interior had blue and yellow décor and table settings. Blue and yellow dominated the restaurant.

Some artists I know started pumping out fleur de lys in their artwork, one after the other. I was determined not to do that. It’s not something I want to be stuck doing over and over again. Whereas I do plan to make a few more, each one has specific reason for being. This is one of two in this batch of dot paintings. So here’s the first painting from the “o” series New Orleans.