Uncle Lionel Batiste

A few weeks ago, it was in the news that Uncle Lionel Batiste was very ill. Instantly, I felt the compulsion to capture his image on canvas for my own therapy. Working through the fact of life that we all have to deal with death. Working through the thought that one more person that makes New Orleans a special place would soon be gone.

So many great musicians have hailed from New Orleans. So many have contributed to the history of this countries musical foundation. Mr. Batiste was one of them.

Well, on July 8, 2012, Uncle Lionel finally laid his mallets down for his brass drum and made that last second line walk to glory. An old classmate of mine contacted me and said he was actually her uncle. She wanted to know if I had thought about painting him. Yes! And now it was time for me to express my thoughts with paint. My only hope was that the final painting would reek of his spirit. I shared the painting with his niece first. She was please. So, here it is for your review.