Emilie Rhys

Emilie is our featured artist in New Orleans March 8 – 11

See Emilie’s art featured in Offbeat January 

Emilie Rhys

artist:
music a passion, and
capturing ephemeral sound, movement.
artist: many mediums, diverse subjects.
traditional, even classical, in style.
sister, daughter, granddaughter of artists.
it’s a family thing.
a conversation of sorts.
ongoing.
never done.
artist.

Why do I draw in clubs?

I have been drawing in clubs in new orleans for a year and a half.  I was always a painter first, but in the past two years, drawing has taken precedence and happily a sketchpad is well suited to the environment of music clubs.

I am moved by music more than anything in the world.  I admire musicians more than anything in the world.   That is what propels me to show up and once there, i can no more not draw than not breathe.

Everything is moving, in flux, and yet i see details and the whole scene at times in snapshots which i suppose forces me to capture the image in bursts.  Every drawing is an amalgam of moments observed and experienced during the evening.  And of course, the rhythm of the music influences the patterns of pen strokes.

If i abandon a drawing it’s usually because i suddenly can’t see the band because the crowd has gotten so thick, or i do that because i’m so tired i can’t continue a moment longer.

 – Emilie Rhys – February 7th, 2013

Emilie is the daughter of Noel Rockmore, the “Picasso of New Orleans.” His paintings of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band still hang in Preservation Hall.

 

For more of Emilie’s art, please visit this site: http://moscow57.com/visual.html