Scott Guion Artist Statement

I learned early on that creating visual art made me, and other people, happy. When I create a painting, I’m aiming to give people something out-of-the-ordinary that is visually pleasing, colorful, possibly irreverent, but definitely drenched in the essence of the subject matter itself. When people see my work and it makes them smile, I know I’ve hit the target.

My approach to painting is to create streams of consciousness collages that are visually fun. One could say I create using surreal abstract thought with a cartoon realism application. The spectrum of artists who have influenced my work span a range from Vermeer, to Norman Rockwell, to Bob Ross, to Robert Williams and Robert Crumb. By New Orleans standards, that range is from Noel Rockmore to Dr. Bob. The themes I draw from are music, retro popular culture, and comic book art.

My ancestors can be traced back to the mid-1700's in the city of New Orleans. This imprint on my DNA comes through in my art work. I can't help but be inspired by the sights, sounds, and aromas of the greatest city on earth, as well as the people who call, and have called it home. From the jazz greats, to tv and radio personalities, to the locally infamous, the characters of this city lend themselves to my creative process.

You have to have a sense of humor to live in New Orleans, so I also draw from that, and aim to return that. Contained in some of my paintings are inside jokes only New Orleanians will get, though you don’t need to be from here to enjoy the visual feast of color and fun. I want to celebrate my city and showcase its people, to give back to them all they have given me, and in doing so, make them smile.

Self taught painter Scott Guion is from New Orleans. He is uniquely qualified to wield this mirror of the bizarrely familiar. To Live in New Orleans is a sensory experience, and when I look at Scott’s paintings, I am steeped in a sensory overload. I’m not sure if I knew that he was self taught until today when I read it on his website. That’s something I should have known, considering how long I have been acquainted with him. I met him because we both did work for the House of Blues, with our friend, Scott Smith, (cofounder of Farrington Smith Gallery!)who was the art director. I guess Scott Guion may qualify as a folk artist? But it’s a refined kind of raw. We are invited into the montage, we can see everything at once in a Scott Guion painting, and see ourselves, in our city, with our kind of people.

-Adam Farrington