One Man’s Coop

New Orleans Magazine

It is an example of what makes New Orleans special:: a pristine single shotgun house proudly located on a corner lot in a mixed neighborhood. it faces a commercial building and it is catercorner to a neighborhood bar referred by the neighbors as the “social club.” there, folks gather on the sidewalk in an impromptu fashion to sit on wooden chairs or just stand around.. Here in new orleans, it’s fine to live cheek-to-jowl with a bar and commercial building, as long as you live in an interesting house. it is even better if the shotgun has a chartreuse front door and a robin’s egg blue exterior, also a gingerbread trim on the porch and high ceilings inside.

Meet Michael guidry, a talented artist and owner of the handsome corner house in the west Carrollton neighborhood known as Pigeon town. “this is a great place to live,” he says as he sits in a black leather butterfly chair in his living room. “it is truly eclectic in that we have a little bit of everything here – fine historic houses, decaying houses, commercial buildings, restaurants and neighborhood bars.” smiling, he adds, “Yes, you could call this a funky neighborhood – and i love it.”

He enjoys listing some of the many reasons why he loves his jewel of an historic house: “i feel that it is small enough to manage by myself, yet large enough to feel like i can breathe. i like that there are several hangout places in the house for me to sit and read or do business. i love the two back rooms that i use as my studio, the small yet functional kitchen and the large bedroom. i feel there is energy here, and i enjoy using the whole house every day.”

guidry has filled his home with meaningful things he has col- lected over the years. in the living room, there is a set of drums, a guitar, a bass and walls filled with his art. the circus monkey is one of his favorites of his own work. it has a place of honor between the window and front door and seems ready to dance a jig on the big ball. and what is that on the ledge behind his leather couch? “it’s a collection of interesting animal horns i have collected over the years,” guidry answers. and there is another guitar on the floor and black leather butterfly chairs that remind him of the ones that were in his home when he was a child.

“My living room is special because it is where lauren, my wife, and i used to play music togeth- er,” he says. “i’m not much of a musician, but she would write songs and teach me the percussion and bass parts.” (lauren, an adjunct music profes- sor at tulane University, passed away last year.)

there is no doubt that guidry surrounds himself with things he loves, so there’s no need to blink when you walk into the dining room and see a bicycle propped up against the window. this is the room with a special comfortable leather chair in the corner just for guidry’s dogs – Mugsy, a Brussels griffon, and andre, a affenpinscher, and it seems appropriate for the cow in his large painting to somehow be watching over his dogs.

the third room of the shotgun configuration is devoted to a collection of african artifacts. “i call it my reading room because it is cozy and a great place to relax and read.” it is also where he displays his wine collection.

guidry says he especially likes his master bedroom because it is filled with light from the large window and glass-paneled door that overlooks the side porch and garden. “i like the access to my side garden from the bedroom,” he says as he walks out onto the porch. “it’s a great spot to enjoy my morning coffee.” to provide more privacy for the side garden, he erected a wooden fence. “it was one of the first things i did after buying the house in 2009.”

He proudly shows off the two back rooms that he uses as a studio. “i enjoy working at home,” he explains. “i used to have my studio at a different location. now i feel so centered having everything right here in my home.”

His home is a quiet haven for him. “i love being a part of such an interesting neighborhood,” he says. “i’ve never walked across the street and joined the talking and laughing in front of the bar, but if i ever get tired of the quiet, i could.”

 Nautical Learnings

December, 2012 - Lisa Leblanc-Berry: Our Louisiana

“I love waking up at 5 in the morning and painting for two hours before I have my first cup of coffee,” says Michael Guidry, a New Orleans based artist who draws inspiration from the lakes, River, swamps, and bayous of South Louisiana. Born in Lafayette, he spent most of his life in the Big Easy, although he still feels ties in Cajun Country.

“I still feel a deep connection to that region, although my family moved back to the New Orleans area when I was two years old,” he says “I recently did a show there and experienced a real sense of nostalgia for Acadiana. I’m sure it helped that around a dozen people, whose last name was also Guidry, introduced themselves to me while I was there.”

Guidry has a journalism degree from LSU with minors in French, History, Painting, and Sculpture. “I returned to Louisiana after traveling through Europe and living in NYC,” he says. “It was more of a long, working vacation.” He says of his time in the Big Apple.  “I moved back to New Orleans and attended the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts, where I solidified my interest in painting and drawing, although I also studied sculpture while I was there.”

Guidry says he enjoys the Coastal Wetlands, fishing and spending time on his 18-foot crawfish skiff.  Such experiences near the water fuel the artist’s passion for painting regional fish and shellfish.

“After getting around by kayak, canoe, and various homemade wooden crafts, my Crawfish Skiff is my latest passion,” he notes.  “One of my favorite ways to pass a good time is boating and being near the water.  I love picking out an area to explore, and taking my boat out to get lost and see if I can make it back to the dock alive.  Something always goes wrong, reminding me that I am really a city boy,” he laughs.

“Most of the inspiration for my paintings is a result of these outings,” Guidry adds.  “I bring the flora and fauna home to study and try to incorporate my experiences collecting these items into the compositions I am working on.”

Most of the Items that serve as Guidry’s inspiration for his still life paintings have been gleaned from local waters, although he has also been inspired by experiences working in restaurants and the vibrant colors and architecture in New Orleans.  “I enjoy turning raw materials into works of art,” Guidry points out.  “Most of my outings are to my fishing camp outside of Galliano, where I have a small, 30-acre oyster lease that I use for recreation.  It is one of the last camps left in the area, and every outing there is centered around shoring up the property to insure that this camp doesn’t follow the plight of others that the marsh has reclaimed.  The time I spend there reminds me why Louisiana is called a sportsman’s paradise.”

Guidry’s works are humorous, vibrant and unique.  “My normal thing is to bring items to my studio from my excursions and then I do studies that work their way into my compositions,” he says.  “Before I purchased my home, I kept a studio in the Bywater area of New Orleans, I now have my own work space on my property behind the house.  I miss riding my bike through the French Quarter, and surrounding Faubourgs to get to work every day, but I really prefer incorporating my art into my home life,” he says.

Guidry’s body of work is created on a variety of media, including a combination of burlap, linen, cotton canvas, metal and wood, using oil as well as home made encaustic paints.  “I prefer to make my studies and paintings in the studio environment working from life,” he says.

Michael Guidry works from his home studio on Willow Street in New Orleans. For further information contact the artist at: mguidrystudio.com; 504 253-0993

 A Learned Natural

August-Septenber, 2021 - Leah Draffen: Inside New Orleans

You may feel an instant sense of nostalgia when looking at one of Michael Guidry’s painted marsh creatures. Sweaty mornings on a flat boat as the sun appeared upon the horizon or soggy boots with net in hand as you peered into muddy water, no matter the age, we all have those South Louisiana experiences. Michael explores those memories with oils on canvas.

“I first started painting Louisiana subject matter based on trips I used to take out to our fishing camp in Lafourche Parish,” he reflects. “I would go out not even thinking about looking for subject matter, but I couldn’t help but try to relive those things when I got back to my studio.” Michael began collecting items like clumps of marsh grass, and assorted flora and fauna, including birds brought in by his duck-hunting friends.

Posed with some directional lighting, Michael’s clump of marsh grass opened the door for his first solo show, Out of the Marsh. After professionally photographing the series, he eventually entered into the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival with the images. “I got a letter that I was accepted as a Louisiana Nature Painter. Obliged to show what I got juried in with, I had to revisit it.” From banana stalks to alligators and gallinules above, Michael found that his subject matter was endless.

About the source of his subjects, he says, “It’s usually something from my childhood. Something that shaped my environment, but you never really think of it as a single item until it’s taken out of context. That’s how I started with banana stalks. So, instead of painting the plant, I would remove it, isolate it and hang it up in the studio.”

Using traditional materials, Michael’s style offers additional familiarity often unseen in contemporary art. After attending LSU, Michael went to the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts (NOAFA). With a desire to learn to work with an academic approach, he studied how to portray life using traditional techniques,“Now, I use all those same techniques, starting points and materials but with a contemporary, new life. Because you recognize the materials, you may feel a sense of familiarity with the work, which makes it easier to look at.”

Michael began his adoration and study of art as a child. “I was in third grade when I discovered cubism,” he says. “I felt like it was accessible. I never really understood it though until I read about the concepts behind it.” Yet, Michael spent his childhood and teen years thinking you had to be born with artistic talent. “I was clearly infatuated with art but never thought it was a skill I could acquire. It truly was a revelatory experience for me when I started studying sculpture and painting in college. It was then that I was exposed to the practice of art.”

And practice Michael did, after graduating in journalism he moved to New York for some time before returning to LSU to study sculpture plus four years at NOAFA. Years later, Michael continues to practice and learn, especially from a 4-year-old who frequents his studio. “Being a father has changed everything for me and I had no clue that she would affect me so much in my work. She puts paint on canvas with total confidence,” he smiles.

“I have found myself seeing everything from a child’s eye again. When I was little my parents had this small cubist still life print by Picasso, I have been drawn back to that painting and particularly the colors of the piece. Rediscovering it, I have started reincorporating it into my work. Because of her, I have been brought back to that time in my life.”

When Michael doesn’t have a tiny helper in his studio, he approaches his work by stretching his own canvases (a skill he gained during the pandemic) and staining the canvas one color. “Sometimes I let the stain dry, sometimes I don’t, depending on what kind of affect I’m trying to get. So, without even thinking about the subject, I’m already sort of into it. Usually, when I put down a line or color, the next move I make is a reaction to that. It becomes a call and response on canvas—a life of its own.”

After spending much of last year working on commissions, Michael is now getting to explore new ideas that have been floating in his mind. And, he has continued gathering experiences at the fishing camp. “Most of our trips have been remediating storm damage, but we are still in the middle of the Louisiana Salt Marsh so we can’t help but to have nature come to us sometimes. For instance, we had a bunch of purple martins build a nest on our little porch area. It was inspiring to watch the parents’ acrobatics dart around the marsh, collecting insects to nourish the little ones back at the nest.”

Michael enjoys those moments in nature, but truly enjoys capturing them in paint. “When studying at the Academy, I used to wait tables. I remember when I was able to get the night off, it was the feeling of knowing I was going to be able to stay home and paint. I still get that feeling. Now, my studio is behind my house so I can just go in at any point. I love walking in and smelling the oil paint.

“Even if I have just 20 minutes to work, I call it that ‘Pontchartrain Beach feeling’. When our parents would get us in the car and we would find out we were going to Pontchartrain Beach, I would get so excited. It’s that.”

“There’s so Much Life”

Memories of Louisiana wilds, posed within artist Michael Guidry’s process

BY JORDAN LAHAYE FONTENOT MAY 22, 2023

The first time Michael Guidry was ever called a “Louisiana nature artist” was the first time he submitted his work for consideration as a visual artist at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. “They sent me back the contract, and described my work as ‘Louisiana Nature Paintings,’ And I freaked out. I was like, ‘No, that’s not what I do.’”

But it was, sort of, what he had been doing. He had just completed his first solo exhibition as an artist at the now-defunct Moxy Gallery, titled Out of the Marsh, featuring a series of paintings engaging with materials and moments from Guidry’s fishing camp in Lafourche Parish. The series had been inspired by a clump of marsh grass he’d brought home from one of his frequent excursions. “We anchored, and I was right in the middle of the marsh grass, and it was probably autumn, and it was all maroons and blues.” On his way home, he dug up some of it to bring back to his studio.

At the time, Guidry was approaching painting as he had while in school at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts: portraits and studies, experimenting with style. “And little by little … my art interests started showing up in my work,” he said.

This painting, nostalgic in its stillness, its simplicity—a chunk of mud pulled from its environment, held together by a thrush of marsh grass, roots jutting out—struck him. It inspired him to return to the marsh, again and again—but this time, as an artist.