Frenchmen St. Brass Band

When I first moved home to New Orleans in 2007 one of my favorite things to do, as I took in the city,  was walk through  the French Quarter on a warm weekend night. Frenchmen St was becoming a primary hub for live music, and up-and-coming brass bands would often tap into the crowds on the streets, playing on street corners for tips. These brass bands are often formed by young musicians who learned their craft in New Orleans’ Mardi Gras marching bands in school, then formed bands after graduating. This system feeds one of the most unique and celebratory aspects of New Orleans’ culture.   I’ve had a vision of these bands in my mind for years that has been waiting to come out. During a recent visit from my brother, I took him out walking and was explaining the vision to him as a painting I wanted to take on. We took the familiar route to Frenchmen St and came upon a band setting up on the corner of Chartres St around 10pm. We were fortunate to catch them just as they began playing, before a crowd of admirers and dancers surrounded them. I saw my opportunity, approached the band from a low angle, and captured a few perfect reference photos.  The color palette on this painting is extensive and complex. I still think of my perfect palette as being around seven colors, but my work has progressed well beyond that. This painting uses 30 colors, capturing 10 individual figures with their instruments. The nighttime setting is unmistakable, without sacrificing anything in the way of vibrancy or detail. The composition is built around the strong two-point perspective of the building behind the band, juxtaposed by a horizontal flow back and forth across the musicians. The piece keeps the viewer’s attention constantly engaged and, given its size, totally makes you feel like the band is performing right in front of you so that you don’t just see it, you hear it and feel it.