Built in 1855, this lighthouse “…looks completely lost and out of place in its landlocked surrounding, like a sad footnote from a bygone era.” The Times-Picayne.
I believe sharing beauty in humble places is the role of the modern artist. Gone are the days when artists painted altar pieces and art for the so-called nobility. Pissarro’s impressionist street scenes and landscapes showed beauty in everyday places.
Pissarro’s quote reminded me how I had found beauty in two abandoned lighthouses.
I was a little disarmed and disheartened when I first saw the abandoned Port Pontchartrain Lighthouse sitting on grass behind a levee. There it was the campus of the University of New Orleans without any fanfare or sign. Perhaps it was the lighthouse’s quiet majesty; the compelling colors or abandonment that touched me.
I noticed that most people hurried past this lighthouse on the way to see the famed Brant Point Lighthouse a few steps away. It was as if the Old Brant Lighthouse was invisible. People only paused to look at the old lighthouse when they saw me drawing it.
Old Brant Point Lighthouse has no lens; perhaps this is why it connected with me. The lens is perhaps the most important element of the lighthouse. Without the lens and the lantern room, the lighthouse seemed visionless and purposeless. It seemed to be a metaphor for the current state of the lighthouse.
My art is shaped by childhood trips to historic Fort George Island. My passion for history and the ocean began early. While my father fished, I played on the jetties and splashed on the beach with my siblings.
Although my parents were baffled by their artistic child, they never discouraged me from following my dream. They supported me at Hampton University. My mother flew to my graduation from the University of Hawaii.
Whether painting lighthouses, portraits or historic buildings, I recall the fond days when my love of the ocean and history were instilled.
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Voices of Lighthouses 