Southern artist Jaime Ortega brings nature into focus

When fine artist Jaime Ortega picks up his brush, he most often calls on images of nature to populate his work. Whether he’s painting an impressive buck or a detailed image of one of the many nuts which become omnipresent in autumn, he brings nature to life with vivid colors and original perspectives. As one of the artists of Artists’ Galleries de Juneau in Slidell’s Olde Towne, he displays work on many surfaces. From a giant saw blade to wooden artist palettes, he will not be limited to a single size or shape.

His newest project, the nut images, are on 16 X 20 inch canvases. He shares pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and more, turning a treat for the mouth into a treat for the eyes.

Ortega’s first painting dates back to when he was six years old. His mother, an artist in her own right, told her children to paint something. He painted a nautical scene from World War II with a battleship under attack by airplanes. He continued painting throughout his school career, in advanced art classes. Following high school, he attended New Orleans Art Institute for more than two years until joining the U.S. Army.

After his military service, he spent time in the convention industry as an artist, designing the convention and show settings. He found the sharp edges necessary in much of the work bothersome.

“I never did like my draftsman side,” he observes, preferring to soften edges in his work to draw the viewer deeper into the piece rather than breaking the sweep of view with a hard edge or angle. His work is inspired by the Impressionists and his aspiration is to feel that he paints as well as the historic figures of the movement.

“There are color changes but no linear delineations between any two objects in a painting,” he explains. “From the background to the girl’s skirt, it just changes colors. And then that skirt has to change colors as it goes around the light and then back to the background on the other side.”

Although born in New Orleans, Ortega now lives in rural Mississippi where he can study his favorite subject, nature, at will. Art fans can look forward to more images of natural wonder from him.

Originally appearer 12/14/2015 at http://www.examiner.com/article/southern-artist-jaime-ortega-brings-nature-into-focus

Artist Len Heatherly preserves the art of the South in oils

Award-winning artist Len Heatherly began painting watercolors just before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Since then, he has switched to oils as his primary medium and he uses them to bring the hidden beauty of everyday scenes to life. His paintings are rich in the detail of living and the world around us.

Originally from Birmingham, Heatherly’s Alabama roots show in his touching images of southern life. He doesn’t limit himself on subject matter. Although he acknowledges landscape work is his favorite, he moves from landscapes to people with ease. From the buttercups gracing the Bonnet Carré spillway to dancers celebrating in the street or churchgoers, Heatherly calls on his own travels and experiences for artistic content.

Working on canvases he makes himself allows him to work on a variety of sizes. He’ll often create a smaller canvas for a study of the subject prior to beginning the larger piece. The study may become a valuable piece on its own.

His business philosophy is based on “connection,” allowing his art to make a connection with a potential buyer. When someone asks him how he sells his art, he has a ready answer.

“The word ‘sales’ never comes up until there’s a connection,” he notes. Once a connection is made, then he will discuss the selling details. “People may go away and not come back for a month to buy it,” he adds, but he allows them the time to come to the decision on their own. His art does the selling for him.

He belongs to art groups in several areas, including the Mississippi Gulf Coast and south Louisiana. With each organization averaging two shows a year, he has plenty of venues for displaying and offering his work. By his calculations, he appears in eight or ten shows a year.

In addition, his work hangs in Artists’ Galleries de Juneau in Slidell and another gallery in Covington. He also participates in local art fairs.

Heatherly and wife Wylene have lived in a quiet subdivision on the water in Slidell since 2000.

Originally appeared 11/05/2015 at http://www.examiner.com/article/artist-len-heatherly-preserves-the-art-of-the-south-oils

Southern artist Cindy Bachemin transports the wild to canvas through her work

In the company of her Saint Bernard dog, south Mississippi artist Cindy Bachemin shares her world through photography and art. Her dramatic pieces bring viewers into the mystery of the swamp and the drama of wildlife with acrylics painted from her photographs. Her works hang in Artists’ Galleries de Juneau in Slidell, LA’s Olde Towne.

Bachemin often works on 16” X 20” canvases, although she occasionally paints larger pieces. Her studio is filled with a variety of subjects, including New Orleans images and views of the swamp. With inspirations such as the “Welcome to the Swamp” greeting of a television show.

She’s been painting since her young days, with early classes in a local art gallery in her hometown of New Orleans. Her interests morphed from painting fantasy and album covers as a teen in her “hippie” days to surrealism to professional photography. Now that her children are grown, she finds herself with time to return to her earlier love of painting.

With experiments in graphic arts, and imaginative depictions of natural subjects, Bachemin refuses to limit herself to a single mode. She adds touches such as window frames to bring new dimensions to her subject.

She is planning a dream painting depicting an entire swamp town of people and buildings. The townspeople will be shown going about their normal business in the thriving little community. Her vision will fill a larger canvas with the town and people, all within the setting of moss-draped swamp.

Her husband says he's constantly amazed at the beauty of her paintings. He serves as her cheerleader and support system, encouraging her through her efforts.

Bachemin plans to enter local art competitions and shows as well as hanging in the Slidell gallery. Her goal now is to get her name more visible to the public. Look for her work at Artists’ Galleries de Juneau and art competitions. You’ll be glad you found her striking paintings.

Originally appeared 09/02/2015 at http://www.examiner.com/article/southern-artist-cindy-bachemin-transports-the-wild-to-canvas-through-her-work

South LA artist Brian Schmidt shares favorite pasttimes in his work

When south Louisiana artist Brian Schmidt paints, he captures landscapes and scenes of the natural world around him in St. Tammany Parish. Water sports on the Bogue Chitto and Tangipahoa Rivers, cattle in lush pastures and idyllic scenes on the Gulf of Mexico come to life through his oil paintings. Whether painting indoors from a photo or en plein air as he views the scene, Schmidt focuses on sharing the things he loves with his viewers.

He sometimes feels like quitting painting but eventually chuckles about some of the problems he must overcome in his work, such as fighting to get the right amount of detail in the various layers of trees in a Smoky Mountains scene.

“I got the background mountains to look good…the haze, you know. Then I was trying to paint the middle foreground…with the trees… more distinct,” he says, but not as detailed as closer trees. He struggled for four hours before wiping the offending trees from the canvas. 

“I’m still going to try it,” he laughs, promising to go back to the project after a rest time.

Schmidt prefers oil paints because of the longer drying time. Since he works outdoors most often, the oils give him more flexibility to change his work before they dry.

His landscapes reflect the world he enjoys such as the south Louisiana rivers where he canoes. He believes his love for the sprawling art form stems from his early love of Western art with its sweeping scenes of mountains and prairies. As he learned more, the Impressionists drew him with their landscapes.

“I like larger things where you can gather in more for the picture,” he adds. On the rivers, he finds inspiration in the clay banks and the sandy beaches juxtaposed against the water, his favorite subject. Schmidt takes on challenges like a farm scene with cows scattered in the pasture. Working on those cows gave him pause, since the scale of the finished creatures was so small in relation to the original size of the animals.

A longtime lover of art, he began creating his own in the late 1990s. He began by copying some of his favorite artists to learn their techniques. His models included paintings by Remington, Van Gogh and Monet.

“After copying all these things, you think you’ve got the style down, but you don’t,” he notes. Once he went out into the world to paint his own subjects, he struggled with keeping the techniques as he moved on to his own original art. He acknowledges that some of his early attempts were disasters.

“Then I realized…there was something special about those guys. It was in their minds. So I try to paint what I see but not everything photo realistic.” His own style encompasses elements of Impressionism with the power of the western artists.

He’s lived on the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain, between Covington and Folsom, LA, for more than twenty years and enjoys sharing the beauty of the area with those seeing his art.

“They represent things that I like, the rivers…canoes…the North Shore things,” he says and he shares his love with fortunate enough to see his paintings.

Several of his works hang in Slidell at Artists’ Galleries de Juneau in Olde Towne Slidell, LA. Many of his paintings are spoken for before reaching a gallery. He sometimes works on commission based on a photograph or a visit to a scene.

Originally appeared 08/01/2015 at http://www.examiner.com/article/south-la-artist-brian-schmidt-shares-favorite-pasttimes-his-work