GALLERY BURGUIERES

Last night, legendary NYC artist Hunt Slonem visited the Martine Chaisson Gallery for an evening of stunning art, wine, specialty cocktails, and breathtaking gallery space. If you're not familiar with Hunt's work, visit his site to see his lively yet soothing colors and the way in which he captures the endearing and spontaneous nature of animals. 

And if you just can't get enough, The Wall Street Journal  published a story on him yesterday, complete with pictures, history, and an incredible slideshow of the artist's renowned New York studio space!!

As a "sometimes-New Orleanian", Hunt's incredible reputation and personal ties to the city brought out a star-studded showing of beautiful people. Writer John Berendt (of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) was in attendance, in addition to many other creative and artistic masterminds. 

While Hunt himself was the obvious guest of honor, it was impossible to pass up the gorgeous book he was signing. Full color and comprehensive of the artist's 30+ years of works. 

Hunt and I standing in front of "The Guardians", one my favorite paintings.

There's always something going on in the Quarter, but on the slower days nothing beats a good book and an iced coffee. So in today's post we're highlighting TWO places to procure FREE BOOKS!! And they are both within TWO blocks of the Gallery!

The first is Arcadian Books, located at 714 Orleans Avenue (just across from the Bourbon Orleans hotel). I found this place while trying desperately to escape from Bourbon Street. Orleans Avenue is a quiet little strip that joins Bourbon and Royal Streets.

The free books are left on the front stoop. Don't forget to go in though, because you are in for a cluttery treat of literary proportions!! Books everywhere. 

The second place carries less literature, but is no less literary for it. It's a gorgeous little coffee shop called Royal Blend, located in the alleyway just before The Court of Two Sisters. Sit in the shade of banana trees and sip your frozen coffee confection, all while taking in pearls of wisdom from your free book(s). The books at Royal Blend are actually, on average, fairly light fare. But escapist reading is definitely not a bad thing, and you might need a little Anne Rice after reading the Oxford Anthology of English Poetry you picked up at Arcadia Books. 

I've just arrived in the Washington, DC, suburbs for my sister's wedding! The wedding is not until May 7th, so I have some time to enjoy the DC area and visit with my family and friends. I also wanted to make sure I got some painting in, too, so one of the first things I did was search around for a canvas and dig out my paints.

I found a solitary canvas in the basement (the last blank one!!) and the paints I left here, and started painting some giraffes. It feels good to keep up the routine of daily painting—it's like going to the gym, an endorphin high that leaves you feeling you have accomplished something that day.

I read in "Making a Literary Life" by Carolyn See that one has to treat writing like an addiction, and one has to feed the addiction to see it come to fruition. I strive to translate the concept to my writing as well as my painting. For the record, books on writing and the writing life are an incredible resource for anyone making a life of creativity. Just reading the suggestions, advice, and guidance of the authors helps put things in perspective, motivate you for projects, and prepare you to make the most out of your opportunities and time.

I'll have to get more canvases. The only downside of being an artist is that you end up with stacks of paintings everywhere! And, if you're like me, paint on everything.

One of my favorite books at the moment is Confederacy of Dunces. So imagine my delight—as a linguist, artist, and bibliophile—upon discovering this poster for a conference held at LSU:

Louisiana State U. Press was the first to publish the book in 1980, and it subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. (The subtext of the poster reads: "A display of cover designs of translations of the book and a panel discussion about the evolution of the foreign editions".)

The conference was last May—in commemoration of the book's 30th anniversary. Too bad I missed it! But The Daily Reveille writer Ryan Buxton captured a sense of the conference with some juicy and revealing quotes:

"'We are a visual culture,' Callaway said. 'You can't judge a book by its cover, but people often do because that's what draws you in.'

The panel spotted a common theme among the cover designs — the presence of hot dogs, which the book's protagonist sells in New Orleans' French Quarter. 'There is a fixation on the hot dog in the foreign editions,' Gleason said. "