Painting New Orleans Blog

Hi Everyone,

When I was seventeen, I went to an arts and music camp at Brevard College in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina with musicians, dancers and artists from all over the country. In high school I was a bit player, but at this camp, I somehow fell in with the cool kids and made friends with some aspiring jazz musicians. If you have ever met someone who plays the saxophone, you know there is no one cooler, they just exude an unhurried confidence. I would paint and draw while they talked about John Coltrane and played the drums and the saxophone. I do not know if I painted better when they were playing but it sure felt like it. For the final show at camp, I got to introduce them as they played an original composition called "Howling at the Moon". Going there was one of the happiest times of my life.

A year later when I went to New Orleans for college at Tulane, I recognized that same magic when I would go to a club called the Funky Butt in the French Quarter or I would see Rebirth Brass Band spontaneously play outside Snake and Jakes, a dive bar near campus. I do not claim to know a lot about jazz, but I do appreciate that energy and spontaneity in my whole body when I hear it being created.

"Screen Door Serenade" is about jazz, but it's also about that endless possibility for the next generation. I have young children now, and I hope that their creativity is nurtured and that they find a safe place to explore it just like I did when I was young.

Prints of Screen Door Serenade are available-Print of Screen Door Serenade

The original painting is available on my website-Painting of Screen Door Serenade

Thanks For Reading!

Adam K. Hall

[email protected]

(919)-414-2629
www.adamkhall.com