Many of my posts here are about artworks that have been accepted at juried shows around the country, but local friends often ask, “Where can I go to see some of your work?” I don’t always have a good answer, but today I do!

The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council has moved into new digs at 118 Cotton St. in West Monroe. This space has a lovely gallery in front and the opening exhibit featuring Louisiana Arts Region 8 artists is hanging now. I’m proud to be in it!

I picked two of my favorite pieces and both were invited into the inaugural show. Lotus Fractal almost did not come into being, but not because of anything to do with the subject matter–the underside of a dead lotus leaf (Nelumbo lutea). Go to most any body of water in Louisiana in winter and you will see brown, dead lotus leaves turned inside out, held out of the water by stems also dead, brown and stiff. They look to me like nothing so much as shades on goose-neck lamps.

But the variations in shape, color and texture as they decay compel my eye and I have expended many, many pixels on them. So the challenge was not getting plenty of shots to choose from, but figuring out the post-processing, from converting to monochrome to adjusting contrast to cropping. It took me almost a year of occasional fiddling, but I must have gotten it right because Lotus Fractal has been accepted into more juried shows than any other of my artworks.

Yes, I photograph botanicals a lot! I do have favorites of other subject matter, but Palm Psalm stands out because looking at it makes me happy–just like I felt when I looked up and saw the early morning sun shining through palm branches like none I had ever seen before. It’s a cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) on Dauphin Island off the coast of Alabama, and this sight only one of the magical moments I experienced there.

So, local friends, get on over to 118 Cotton St. to see all of the wonderful work from artists of our region and check out the new home of Northeast Louisiana Arts Council. The exhibit is open now. The closing reception is scheduled March 23, 5:30-7:30 pm.