"Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras, Let the music wash your soul
You can mingle in the street, You can jingle to the beat, of Jelly Roll"
–Paul Simon
Mardi Gras Crawfish on Gold 30 x 30 inch Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Cotton Canvas. Spicy, hot boiled crawfish on a garlicky, spicy, purple potato. When you figure all the love that went into creating them, their time growing, catching them, cooking them, and me joyously eating them and painting them, that’s a whole lotta love! .
New Orleans is filled with so much fun, so much flavor, so much music, so much life! The first time I ever ate a crawfish was on my first trip to NOLA. I was 19 years old and I absolutely fell in love with the amazing city. I’ve shared my love by taking many friends and family members on trips to the Cresent City. I took my daughter to Jazzfest, in New Orleans, when she was four. I bought us each a big plate of boiled crawfish. She refused to try them. I sat her at a picnic table where I could keep an eye on her while I waited in line to get her sushi. When I returned with her sushi, the folks at the table had taught her how to eat the crawfish and she loved them! She had already eaten her entire plateful and had started working on mine! That’s my experience with crawfish—bringing families together one plateful at a time. Crawfish feel like love to me.
Mardi Gras Crawfish on Green 30 x 30 inch Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Cotton Canvas. Crawfish offer the full physical experience. They speak to all of our human senses. They have a miraculous visual, an intoxicating flavor, a mouth watering aroma, an exciting snap sound when you twist off the tail, promising the sweet spicy meat and juicy head!
Right now it’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It’s an entire season, not just a day. It starts on January 6th, the twelfth night of Christmas, and continues till Fat Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, the Christian fasting season. Mardi Gras is the celebration of Carnival. A time of revelry that includes: parades, parties, music, and gastronomic indulgence all culminating on Fat Tuesday.
The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced to Rome, Venice, and the French House of Bourbonsin in the 17th and 18th centuries. On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville came ashore 60 miles south of New Orleans. When his men realized it was the day before Fat Tuesday they named the land "Pointe du Mardi Gras". Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. In 1718 Bienville established New Orleans. By the 1730s, Mardi Gras was celebrated with fancy society balls. In 1875, Louisana Governor, Henry Warmoth, signed the "Mardi Gras Act," making Fat Tuesday a legal holiday in Louisiana.
Mardi Gras Crawfish on Purple 30 x 30 inch Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Cotton Canvas. Crawfish—bringing families together one plateful at a time. Crawfish feel like love to me. The more we connect to good times and high vibes, the better our lives feel. I created this crawfish painting to cultivate joy and feed your soul.
In modern times Mardi Gras is filled with non-stop excitement. It's one giant holiday in New Orleans! Revelers wear costumes, masks, and bead necklaces caught from previous years’ floats. They dress in purple green and gold—purple for "justice," green for "faith" and gold for "power. Decorated in these colors, delicious King cakes are traditionally eaten on Mardi Gras. According to Christianity, Jesus first showed himself to the three wise men, the kings, on January 6th and that's why we eat king cakes and that’s when the entire season begins. A small plastic baby is hidden inside each King cake. If you get the baby you host the party the following year.
Les Bon Temps Rouler #1 Crawfishfest 16 X 20 Acrylic on 2.5 inch deep gallery wrapped canvas.Celebrate every day like it’s Fat Tuesday. Let the good times roll!
Crawfish at the Fest 8 x 8
Crawfish Margarita 8 x 8
Every year I host a Mardi Gras pARTy. I serve crawfish pie, jambalaya, king cake, hurricanes, pralines and I put a band together so we can all shake our moneymakers to some live music! I decorate with feathers, beads, and sequined table cloths, all purple, green, and gold. This year we can’t get together but we can still celebrate with good food, great music, and some fine cocktails. If you’re in a warm region get outside and celebrate safely with friends and family. You can order some excellent NOLA classic foods online from the Louisiana Crawfish Company. They even have beads. If you’re in a cold region grab your cocktail and meet on zoom. Grab your beads and shake your moneymaker! Let me know if you need any more resources for anything New Orleans. I got you, Boo.
Above I am performing with the band and to the left are the party favors from my 2019 Mardi Gras Party.
What brings you joy? What makes your heart sing? If you answered a good old crawfish boil under the magnolia tree by a pool near the fairgrounds, we are kindred spirits! But whatever it is, cultivate the moments that bring you joy and feed your soul. That’s when you come alive. That’s what you are here to do. I am eternally grateful for the joy and wonder New Orleans has brought me and I’m thrilled to share it with you. New Orleans touches my soul so I paint images that connect me to that gorgeous and magical city. These paintings are for sale if you would like one for your home. If NOLA isn’t your bag, I’d be thrilled to create something special for you that connects you to something you love. Art is a powerful conduit to connect you to your joy. Contact me and we can get the party started.
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler—Let the Good Times Roll!
Lotsa love,
Leslie