Sarah Stiehl

Another interesting part of New Orleans that is seen pretty much everywhere is artwork of all kinds. Paintings, drawings, and photography covers the fences in Jackson Square and art galleries are sprinkled throughout the French Quarter. Sometimes that specific artist is manning the shops but other times someone else is watching and trying to sell the pieces for them. Everyone is so friendly though and don’t even act judgmental when my group of clearly broke college students walk in casually dressed asking questions about several hundred-dollars-worth of artwork. It is easy to see that a lot of the people who decide to create some type of art are able to find inspiration throughout the city. A lot of the art that is visible in New Orleans is of the beautiful architecture and the interesting people they see around town. One artist that I really liked, I found in a gallery called the Vieux Carre Fine Art Gallery in the French Quarter. This gallery is one that will feature mostly one artist at a time, if they have enough material, until that person decides to move on or until the gallery decides they are ready to feature another local artist. The gallery enjoyed catering to artists that love New Orleans and are inspired by certain characteristics of the city. One of the paintings caught my eye from outside because it seemed to be somewhat abstract. It was of a band playing several instruments, but the colors are bright while kind of blurry and the human figure is more cartoon-like than realistic. I like it because it is depicting a group of Jazz musicians which is a New Orleans staple. 

I thought that this specific artist was interesting because she does all different kinds of paintings. Some of her paintings are more realistic looking with muted coloring and some of them are extremely bright, uplifting, cheery paintings. She has paintings of people who inspired her, the St. Louis cathedral, Jackson Square, Pirates Alley and other parts of the French Quarter, beautiful homes, and even a little bit of food. 

(This is my favorite painting because I am in love with the architecture and funky colored houses in New Orleans. I have seen houses that are similar to the colors in this painting so it isn't even an exaggeration.) 

It seems like she is interested and enjoys painting all different things, which is cool because I am used to artists having a specialty. She uses all different mediums as well, as some of her paintings are pastels, some are oil, and some are on canvas while others are not.

Unfortunately, she was not in that gallery when I was there to visit. I didn’t get to meet her but I did get to meet other artists that had their work displayed in Jackson Square. They are always eager to come up and introduce themselves and talk about their work without being pushy about trying to sell it. Some of it is very expensive, but I think that if a piece really spoke to me and I had somewhere in my house to display it, I wouldn’t mind spending a decent amount of money to have a part of an artist’s talent and creativity. It turns out that Sarah Steihl, the artist I have been blabbering on about, has been painting for over thirty years and has lived in New Orleans since the 1970’s. She also attended the New Orleans Academy of Art before traveling all over Paris and France. Stiehl has made a name for herself by using bright bold colors and making her paintings have a way of coming to life.

I really liked this artist Sarah Stiehl’s work for several reasons. For one thing, I noticed the first oil painting I attached to this blog from outside on a day that the gallery hadn’t quite opened yet. The colors were so bright it just caught my eye and I was curious to see more. I drug my friends back there later to get inside and get a better look. I absolutely love brightly colored art, even though I couldn’t put it up in my house because it is decorated in a very rustic style and out in the country. I think that the bright color is what attracted me but I also enjoyed how much like caricature art it was, like the band really has its own personality. I also am so impressed with some of the buildings that are in New Orleans, especially in the French Quarter, so the fact that Stiehl focuses her artwork on some of those aspects of the city is really interesting. I think it is so cool how into their city the New Orleans natives are. Everyone that talks about it is so obviously proud of the uniqueness in the city. I really loved walking through some of the galleries and thinking to myself, “Oh, I know that place. That is the Pontalba building, or there is Jackson Square and the cathedral.” I feel so great to be able to recognize some of these places and get an idea about the feelings these iconic places must bring to the locals and other people visiting. We have learned so much about the history and seeing it portrayed in a beautiful painting or photograph is really cool. I find it awesome that the artists can find a muse in either the physical aspects of the city or the people and different parts of their cultures. I think the story that this specific artist is trying to tell is just the story of New Orleans and all that it has to offer. From the unique buildings, musicians, culinary delicacies, and extremely interesting history, New Orleans is just the place to be if you’re looking to find inspiration. Even an artist that may not be interested in music could accurately depict a musician because they are everywhere. i saw several artists throughout the city and most of them all used the city as their inspiration. In Chicago, we do see a lot of CityScapes and things of that nature but it just doesn't seem like there is as much culture that people can actually absorb because there is so much violence unfortunately.