Still Water Tales

new work by Adam Trest

Still Water Tales is a collection rooted in observation and wonder. In the quiet corners of Southern swamps and slow-moving streams, I find stories—some whispered by turtles sliding off logs, others stirred by the sudden leap of a frog. These paintings are not just depictions of wildlife, but narratives of pursuit, pause, and the delicate tension between stillness and motion.

Each piece invites the viewer to linger—to notice the ripple before the splash, the glance before the chase. I’m drawn to those in-between moments, where nature reveals its quiet poetry and instinct gives way to grace.

⸻

About the Artist

Adam Trest was born in Louisiana and is a Mississippi-based painter and storyteller whose work celebrates the folklore, fauna, and layered histories of the American South. With a background in illustration and a deep reverence for Southern landscapes, Trest creates visually rich compositions that blend pattern, narrative, and nostalgia.

His work has been featured in museums, galleries, and national media, and he is known for translating regional culture into visual stories that resonate far beyond their roots. Whether painting a pack of dogs in motion or a still pond teeming with life, Trest invites his audience to slow down, look closely, and find the story within the silence.

Andrew LaMar Hopkins (b. 1977, Mobile, AL)

Andrew LaMar Hopkins is a singular voice in contemporary American painting, renowned for his meticulously detailed depictions of 18th- and 19th-century Southern interiors, architecture, and daily life. Deeply rooted in historical research, his work reconstructs the largely erased histories of Free Creoles of color, particularly in New Orleans, where he had lived for decades.  Hopkins also maintains a studio space in Savannah, Georgia, and paints in Paris, France.

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Hopkins grew up captivated by the Southern Antebellum Creole culture to which his family is intrinsically tied—a lineage tracing back to Nicolas Baudin, a Frenchman who received a Louisiana land grant in 1710. A self-taught artist and expert antiquarian, Hopkins channels his extensive knowledge of Creole material culture, architecture, and social history into paintings that are both historical documents and lyrical reimaginings.

Visually, Hopkins’ compositions recall the folk traditions of Clementine Hunter, Grandma Moses, and Horace Pippin, yet his technical precision and layered storytelling distinguish his oeuvre. His works often depict the elegant interiors and street scenes of 1830s Creole port cities, rendered with exquisite attention to period details. In a radical departure from romanticized antebellum narratives, Hopkins introduces overtly homosocial or queer-coded elements, excavating the often-repressed histories of LGBTQ figures in the 19th-century South. His artistic practice is mirrored in his parallel persona as Désirée Joséphine Duplantier, a 1950s grande dame alter ego who embodies the theatrical, gender-fluid history of New Orleans.

Hopkins’ work is internationally renowned, with features in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Garden & Gun, and Architectural Digest. His painting Self Portrait of the Artist as Désirée (2019) was acquired by the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., where the curator noted that it “significantly enhances our collection with its quality, rarity, and importance.” He recently concluded a year-long solo museum exhibition, Creole New Orleans Honey: The Art of Andrew LaMar Hopkins, at the Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo in Jackson Square, accompanied by a dedicated publication of his work.

On Hopkins’ rising influence in American art, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jerry Saltz succinctly remarked: “People should see it.”

Orleans Gallery is thrilled to represent Andrew LaMar Hopkins, and his inaugural show at the Gallery, “Louisiana Creole Gumbo,” opens May 3, and runs through the end of the month.

John Bukaty: Painting Life and Live

John Bukaty doesn’t just paint live moments—he channels them. His work is kinetic, devotional, and distinctly American in its reach and restlessness. From the humble walls of a Kansas City brewpub to the vaulted echoes of the Vatican, Bukaty’s twenty-year journey has traced the line between the spiritual and the immediate, the soulful and the celebratory. It’s no surprise that his work now finds its place within Orleans Gallery, a space devoted to artists whose visions are rooted in the South but extend far beyond its borders.

A pioneer of the live painting movement, Bukaty renders motion into metaphor. Whether capturing the thunder of Jazz Fest, the spectacle of the Super Bowl, or the sacred hush of an ancient temple, he does so with brushwork that feels urgent, reverent, and alive. His paintings don’t freeze time—they illuminate it. And in doing so, they tell stories not just of action, but of presence.

But Bukaty is more than a painter of moments—he is a force of community. His collaborations with Grammy Award-winning artist Anders Osborne through the Send Me A Friend initiative exemplify a deeper calling: to hold space for healing and sobriety in the often chaotic lives of touring musicians. It’s a role he plays often and well—leveraging his artistic gifts to raise funds and awareness for causes as diverse as cancer research, animal welfare, addiction recovery, and children’s hospitals.

His works have been shown at major institutions—from the Denver Art Museum to the New Orleans Museum of Art—and collected by figures like Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, and John Popper. Even corporations, from Toyota to Budweiser, have sought his unmistakable blend of authenticity and energy. He’s painted the potholes of New Orleans into poetry and left his mark in places as sacred and far-flung as the Taj Mahal.

Bukaty’s story is one of hard-won transcendence: the struggles of life, sustained by art, and sharpened by a clarity of purpose. What has emerged is an artistic practice that’s as socially grounded as it is spiritually charged. His paintings don’t simply depict events; they invite us into a world where art becomes movement, healing, and  a means of channeling the collective ethos. And here, at Orleans Gallery, Bukaty's work reminds us of the raw beauty of showing up—for the moment, for each other, and for the arts.

Louisiana Cajun Artist, Tony Bernard was born and raised in the unique and culturally rich city of Lafayette, Louisiana. His appreciation for Cajun culture and cuisine, in addition to his love of Louisiana’s “Sportsman’s Paradise” is evident in the way he captures it on canvas.

Tony, even at a young age loved to doodle. As a teenager, he realized that he was not only good at drawing and painting but loved doing it.

Tony Bernard’s voice booms. When he talks about his two greatest passions- Louisiana culture and creating art, he can fill up the room with his words, like a church soloist who doesn’t need a microphone to be heard from the back pews. Despite his larger-than-life presence, during an interview at his studio on Johnston Street in Lafayette, Bernard projected much more humility and joy than your average artist. 

He is not a tortured soul. His art is bright, cheerful, and happy, much like Bernard himself. But his journey did not begin in an art school, nor did he come from a traditional arts background. 

Bernard got his start painting custom signs for two of the most prominent brands in Louisiana: Tabasco and Landry’s Seafood. 

While working on a promotional hand painted billboard for Landry’s Seafood Restaurant that featured the Blue Dog, Bernard caught the eye of Louisiana’s most famous artist. 

 “You need to come work for me,” George Rodrigue said. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Bernard became Rodrigue’s assistant and right-hand man for more than 25 years. His story and his emergence as a fine artist are inextricably tied to George Rodrigue, a man who was dubbed Louisiana’s Rousseau. 

Tony started in commercial art in 1983. He gained recognition for winning first place in a national art contest, which published his work in a nationwide magazine for artist. He then moved into visual art in the early 90’s and in 1993, he began his working relationship with world renowned artist George Rodrigue. Tony’s relationship with George as mentor and friend was very instrumental in his growth as an artist.

Tony’s diversity in all mediums has been a passion from the start but acrylics on canvas is his favorite way to take the painting that he has created in his head and put it on canvas.Since beginning his professional career, Tony has been commissioned to produce original art work for over 30 posters for local and regional festivals and he also produced the official Posters for Schaeffer Crawfish Boil in Birmingham, AL, the Washington, D.C. Mardi Gras in 2015 & the 2017 Gator by the Bay in San Diego, CA. He has produced art for professional athletic teams, SEC and Sun Belt sporting events. He has painted wildlife pieces that won him the Louisiana Duck Stamp in 2007-08 and 2014-15.

Portrait artist is another title that Tony wears. Tony was commissioned to paint the Official portrait of the Governor that hangs in the Governor’s Mansion for the State of Louisiana. Tony was also commissioned to paint American Country Music artist Hunter Hayes.

In 2015, a long-time dream of Tony’s happened as he opened his first gallery. Initially, it was opened with Grammy Award Winner, Wayne Toups (Toups Bernard Musical Brushes) in Lafayette, Louisiana.

After a year, the space became too small for both artist, so Tony went solo and renamed the gallery, Bernard Studio & Gallery.

Tony was approached by Bed, Bath and Beyond and they are using Tony’s artwork on various products, including Tumblers, Garden Flags, Glass Cutting Boards and many more products.

Today, you can find Tony at his gallery, where he paints in the company of his wife, Roxie, who runs the gallery and they get to meet and visit with his collectors and friends.

Bernard was recently featured as the featured Artist for the State of Louisiana “I Voted Sticker,” This year’s sticker is the first to feature his own artwork, and his beautiful interpretation of the Louisiana State Seal speaks for itself as well. Bernard remains gracious and deferential to Rodrigue.

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Press Secetary Tyler Brey said about Bernard “It is a tremendous honor to be selected, as an artist, to paint this work, and Bernard was chosen to succeed Rodrigue’s wildly popular Blue Dog sticker, and in many ways Bernard is a successor to Rodrigue.” Secretary of State Ardoin had seen Bernard’s work at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, where he painted the event’s popular signature prints for the last nine years. Bernard saw this as an opportunity to give back to the State that has given him so much, “This was my gift to the people of Louisiana, I donated this artwork because I felt like it was my duty as a citizen of Louisiana,” Bernard said. 

Bernard paints a more colorful and whimsical Louisiana bayou and oaks scene than Rodrigue, and his pieces feature inconspicuous Louisiana iconography. Bernard’s work is uniquely his own, and uniquely Louisiana. Bernard’s art speaks the language of Louisiana, and he is fluent in Louisiana symbolism. It is the background and subject for almost all of his work. Sprawling landscapes focus on the natural beauty and iconic symbols of Louisiana- from oaks, bayous, and cypress trees to pelicans, crawfish, music, and musicians. His portraits feature many of Louisiana’s native sons and daughters, and one even hangs in the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion. 

This year’s sticker is an excellent example of Bernard’s work: layers of Louisiana imagery, including a pelican, cypress trees, the fleur de lis, and the phrases “Pelican State,” “Feed your soul,” “Sportsman’s Paradise,” and “1812.” Hidden in the piece are also other messages of positivity like “Love” and “Love One Another.” 

The piece is Bernard’s take on the Louisiana State Seal, incorporating bright, pop art colors mixed with the familiar Louisiana blue and gold of the official seal. The pelican in the piece, known as “King George,” has become Bernard’s most recognizable and important subject. 

The story of the Pelican with the crown and how it came to be known as “King George,” like many great Louisiana political stories, begins at D.C. Mardi Gras. And like many great Louisiana political stories, it has been widely misreported. 

Bernard had been selected to create the official print for D.C. Mardi Gras in 2015, and he wanted to create something unique for the doubloons that adorned the majority of the work. He decided to paint a pelican with a crown. 

“This image of the King Pelican is pretty striking,” he told his wife. “We need to come up with a name for it.” As he searched for a name, nothing stuck until he came across a photo he had of George Rodrigue at the Washington Hilton. Rodrigue had been getting dressed for D.C. Mardi Gras, sporting a Blue Dog t-shirt and a crown, preparing to put on his full Mardi Gras regalia. But Bernard insists he didn’t name the pelican after Rodrigue; he’d simply felt naming the name “King George” fit the character of the pelican.  

Tony Bernard is now a prominent force in the arts community of Acadiana, but his reach far exceeds his Southwest Louisiana roots. He has been called the “Louisiana Festival Poster King,” having been commissioned to create more than thirty prints for events across Louisiana and across the country, from San Diego to St. Mary Parish. 

We buy and sell original works by Tony Bernard, for more information please contact us.

(For More Information, or to purchase prints, visit: http://www.bernardstudio.com/)

Clementine Hunter was Louisiana's most celebrated and beloved folk artist. She is also Louisiana's most famous female artist. Hunter a self-taught African-American artist from the Cane River region of Louisiana, lived and worked on Melrose Plantation. Her work depicted plantation life in the early 20th century, documenting a bygone era. Her first paintings sold for as little as 25 cents. By the end of her life, her works were exhibited in museums around the world and sold by dealers and galleries for thousands of dollars. Hunter was the granddaughter of a former slave. Hunter received an hoary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Northwestern State University in 1986. Though she is considered a folk artist legend, she spent her entire life in poverty, even though she was selling her pieces of art in the 1970's for hundreds of dollars. She died in 1988 in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Hunter is one of the most well-known self-taught artists, often referred to as the black Grandma Moses. Hunter painted from memory, and her works portray cotton and pecan picking, washing clothes, baptisms, and funerals. Many of her paintings feature similar subjects, but each painting is unique. Hunter's work features colorful displays of plantation life with powerful expressive force. 

Hunter was the first African-Amerian artist to have a solo exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and prominent collectors include Oprah Winfrey and the late Joan Rivers, among many others . Her work can also be seen in the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of American Folk Art, the Dallas Museum of Fine Art, and the New York Historical Association. 

Looking for a Clementine Hunter? We can help! 

Have a Clementine Hunter you want to sell? We buy and consign original Clementine Hunter paintings. Your Clementine Hunter deserves a good home, email us if we can help! 

Morgan Gray, known by her instagram handle, Morgan Paints Stuff, is a force in the world of southern art.

Gray’s work—intuitive, feminine, and richly textured—defies simple categorization, although she settles on “expressionism with portraiture and abstraction” when pressed. Her palette is instantly recognizable, dominated by peaches, burnt sienna, olive greens, and periwinkle blues—colors that convey both warmth and complexity. “I paint what I like and what I would put up in my own home,” Gray says, a statement modestly understating the sophistication of her visual language. Her art resonates deeply, not merely through its aesthetics but through its layered subtleties and inviting charm.

Recurrent motifs in Morgan Gray’s work—suns, moons, swans, checkerboards, and classical busts—reflect a deep affinity for timeless beauty and the divine. These symbols serve as intuitive anchors, blending celestial wonder, vintage nostalgia, and a reverence for art history into each layered composition.

“If something looks off, I just keep layering until it feels right. A mistake usually ends up being what makes the piece interesting.” Much of the texture in Gray’s work emerges from instinctive revisions—moments where corrections evolve into defining features. The end result is polished and intentional, but never overworked—not effortless, but resolved, with every correction buried beneath a finish that feels inevitable.

Her canvases—often set within ornate, thrifted frames—bridge the old and the new, inviting nostalgia while subverting it. Gray’s incorporation of vintage frames, sourced from estate sales and hidden gems like Red, White & Blue thrift store, is central to her identity as an artist. It began out of necessity and resourcefulness but has become emblematic of her approach: reclaiming the discarded, re-envisioning the forgotten. “There’s this frame someone was donating, and I’m turning that into an entire art piece,” Gray explains. “The way the painting comes out of the frame, and the way the paint plays with the texture of the frame, it’s drama, it’s interest, it makes the art more one-of-a-kind.”

Gray’s artwork extends beyond the canvas itself, with each carefully selected thrifted frame becoming an integral part of the piece. She intentionally incorporates the ornate textures and vintage character of the frames into her compositions, painting directly onto them so that the boundary between frame and artwork dissolves, creating a unified, immersive aesthetic experience.

Indeed, Gray’s fascination with Greek and Roman sculptures aligns seamlessly with her broader ethos of renewal and timelessness. Her depictions of classical busts and goddesses—figures borrowed from her adventures in Italy—are rendered in fluid, expressive strokes that breathe contemporary life into historical icons. The result is a body of work that is simultaneously classical and refreshingly modern, as though fragments of antiquity have collided with modern luxury.

Gray’s artistic journey was far from traditional. She did not have her first art class until college. Born and raised in Berwick, Louisiana—a small town offering little artistic exposure—Gray had not formally painted until her junior year of high school. Even then, painting was a hobby rather than an envisioned career. It was not until a revelatory conversation at LSU, where she initially enrolled as a Mass Communication major, that she realized painting could be more than just a pastime. “I met a girl who was a painting and drawing major,” she recalls, “and I thought, wait, you can do that?”

The ensuing switch to a BFA program was transformative. Classes in still life, abstract painting, and figure drawing under demanding professors shaped her distinct technique of layering and texture-building. Inspired by Willem de Kooning, Picasso, and Cezanne, Gray’s education gave her the rigorous discipline and foundational skill set that now underpin her intuitive style.

Yet it was her own intuitive experimentation, rather than formal education alone, that defined her breakthrough moment. During the pandemic’s isolation, Gray began sharing short, captivating videos of her process on social media. Almost overnight, her distinctive “face abstracts” caught the public imagination, gathering millions of views and rapidly building a following of over 100,000. The visibility provided by these platforms catapulted her career, enabling her to move beyond commissions dictated by client requests—“dogs and dead relatives,” she jokes—to freely pursuing her artistic visions.

Despite her success, Gray remains refreshingly grounded, humorously self-deprecating, and deeply committed to the authenticity that made her viral to begin with. Her Instagram handle, “MorganPaintsStuff,” originally chosen as a humorous deflection from the vulnerability of sharing art publicly, has stuck precisely because it encapsulates her approachable yet profound creativity.

Born in California and raised in Virginia, he began Painting while completing his Undergraduate Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, B.A. International Relations in Latin America. In Lieu of pursuing a career in his field of study he opted to Backpack around America in search of somewhere artist’s belong. He found New Orleans to be the perfect place to plant his artistic seed and take the Louisiana landscape as his muse. You won’t find him in the studio, he prefers to work directly from nature, whether it be down the Bayou or in the streets of the French Quarter. With the inspiration and support from his local community He supports himself solely with his painting. In 2014 He began his Mentorship under Internationally Renowned Artist Akio Hanafuji in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico. 

Mason: An Artist Reborn

Mason’s journey into art began with a revelation—discovering that their favorite painting at home was secretly created by their mother. This revelation sparked a thought: “If she can do it, I can do it—I’m literally made out of her.” In college, while training as a linguist and Bible scholar, Mason took a leap and enrolled in an Intro to Acrylic Painting course. Despite lacking prerequisites and the professor’s initial hesitations, Mason’s natural talent became undeniable. What started as a creative escape from Greek and Hebrew became the seed of a lifelong passion.

After graduation, Mason experienced a profound personal and spiritual reckoning. A near-death experience following years of struggle with identity, sobriety, and self-acceptance reshaped their life and art. In the midst of darkness, they found resilience and healing in creativity. On a snowy winter day in Austin, Texas, Mason picked up the paintbrush again after a long hiatus, rediscovering the unquenchable thirst for expression through paint.

Since 2020, Mason has immersed themselves fully in their craft, painting over 40 hours a week when they were discovered and represented by Louisiana Art’s Orleans Gallery. Painting became Mason’s meditation, a daily practice that transformed their relationship with self-love, patience, and confidence. It was through art that Mason found the courage to embrace and affirm their identity as a transgender artist.

Mason’s work reflects the vibrant, transformative power of persistence and vulnerability. Each painting tells a story of survival and triumph, blending technical skill with brilliant use of color. Mason’s journey is a testament to the healing potential of art, proving that creativity is not just an act of making but an act of becoming.

Just as Michelangelo unveils masterpieces hidden within stone, as though the marble itself whispers its potential to his hands, Russell Whiting uses a torch, chisel, and grinder to reveal masterpieces from pieces of solid steel. With every strike of the chisel, every cut of the torch, he frees the soul of the sculpture, breathing life into the cold, solid, unyielding steel. An innovative and entirely unique recreation of sculptural methods using an entirely new technique, Whiting creates brilliant figurative works, abstracts, flora and fauna from his home and studios amongst the trees and attuned with nature in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Whiting also creates works in Bronze by casting his innovative steel carvings, working in traditional casting methods including wax and clay, and creates mixed medium works using marble, stone, wood, bronze, steel, and overpainting in brilliant and unique combinations. Whiting works brilliantly at any size, from desktop to monumental works.

Whiting has shown across the country, with Gallery representation in Maine, Georgia, and Tennessee, and public works sculptures in prominent places across the United States. His work is in the collections of museums, major corporations, sculpture gardens, and municipalities across the world.

Statement of the Artist:

“In 1990 I began using steel and techniques I had learned in the oil fields of the Gulf of Mexico. Those techniques I have found to be unique to my process.  Strongly influenced by classical forms, I have begun to recognize the validity of my own subconscious dialogue as an important source for my work.  This fusion results in classicism with contemporary execution.  The creation of my images is influenced by many factors: religion, ancient cultures, cinema, other artists, etc. The images are combined and mutated and reborn with no regard to logic or their cultural origins.

I have never let an idea die, constantly going back over the sketchbooks and reviving older pieces.  It’s a contradiction but the more I change, the more connected I become to my past. And of course the overall connective tissue to my work is the work (carved steel, my unique contribution to sculpture).”

Louisiana Art represents Russell Whiting in Louisiana, and is pleased to help with a commissioned project for your home, garden, office, or public works sculpture. We will begin offering in stock works in the second quarter of 2025.

At first glance, my artwork is recognized by rich pigments, light hearted narratives and detailed illustrations. What some don’t realize is that hidden beneath the surface you will find many layers of paint, along with deep rooted emotions that chronicle my life in a sort of illustrated journal. I embed my personal stories and experiences into each painting but I obscure them in a whimsical format to allow the viewer the opportunity to discover the meaning for their selves. I ask you to open your heart and mind to these underlying layers, in hopes that you’ll be surprised to find a deeper, unexpected connection to the work.

-Daniel Angeles

Kloe Donley’s work is a vibrant, glossy, technicolor dream. This impressive New Orleans native has carved out a vibrant niche in the pop art landscape, infusing her canvases with bold colors, intricate details, and a palpable sense of joy. Her pieces, often featuring iconic figures like Sophia Loren and Dolly Parton, are not mere portraits but celebrations of individuality and style.

Donley’s artistic journey is as dynamic as her work. A self-taught artist, she began her career by painting a portrait of Saints player Alvin Kamara, a piece that ignited her passion and set her on a path as a full-time artist. Her dedication and unique approach quickly garnered attention, leading to her work being showcased in prestigious art shows around the country.

What sets Donley apart is her ability to blend classic elegance with contemporary flair. Her use of acrylics, conservation resin, attention to detail, and incorporation of personal elements—like lyrics or tattoos relevant to her subjects—create a rich tapestry that resonates with viewers. Each piece is a conversation between the subject and the observer, blending popular culture, iconic images, and brilliant color to achieve images that resonate with collectors around the world.

Now featured in Orleans Gallery, Donley’s work aligns seamlessly with the gallery’s commitment to showcasing artists who capture the spirit and vibrancy of the South.

In a world that often feels monochrome, Kloe Donley brings the color. Her art invites us to see the world through a more vibrant lens, reminding us of the beauty in boldness and the power of personal expression.