If you’ve ever spent time in Cajun country, you appreciate the fact that it is a whole other world. Folks in the Acadian Parishes have their own special way of mixing scientific fact with outright exaggeration in order to tell a story or to make a point. The better the story, the more people repeat it, and it evolves from story to folklore.

Good Cajun folklorists are able to take what is around them in the abstract and mold a story that evolves over generations and adapts itself to contemporary times. The self-appointed mission of our cover artist, Linda Dautreuil, is to preserve those folk tales in a most ambitious way.

Linda’s recent body of work captures on canvas the essence of folk narratives, particularly those of Louisiana. This continuing series has evolved over the past five years. In it, she attempts to preserve some of the folk tales that have been handed down through generations of Louisiana’s citizens. The choice of subject matter is not surprising for the New Iberia native, given the time she’s spent in the heart of Cajun country and at her alma mater, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. To this writer, it is important work, because the Acadian culture is but one of many localized American folk cultures that are slowly fading due to the virtual ethnic cleansing and homogenizing effects of television and other electronic media.

“A recent project that focused on the motifs of folk narratives found in many cultures as a source for visual expression focused my attention on the way that natural phenomena become a part of culture. These thoughts inspired a series of paintings that used figurative elements and gradually evolved into more abstract interpretations,” Linda explains.

“Feu Follet,” this issue’s cover painting, captures on canvas the folk tale used by Acadian mothers to explain how an atmospheric effect of light in Louisiana – similar to the aurora borealis, or northern lights – represents danger to careless children. Loosely translated as “the souls of playful children who died,” feu follet are said to lure careless children to their doom in the bayous at night. The dancing lights provide Cajun mothers with visual aids and a teaching opportunity aimed at discouraging their young children from venturing out at night.

“It is an abstract painting that was inspired by the effects of light and atmosphere that have found their way into a variety of folk narratives in South Louisiana. The portions of the folk narrative that are most familiar to me provide the under painting layer of this work on canvas,” Linda says.

In a manner of speaking, Linda’s art combines both elements of her college careers: literature and painting. Her first of two degrees earned at UL Lafayette was in the humanities. Her love of literature inspired Linda to write plays and other works for the performing arts. This provided her an intimacy and direct interaction with the audience that she enjoyed. Once she graduated, however, she found it difficult to sustain that drive. In an effort to re-spark her creativity in literature, she began to experiment with the visual arts, particularly painting.

“In the early ’70s I was experimenting on my own. I started lessons at the McCrady School of Art in the French Quarter. I was one of the last to study there; they closed shortly after. I took lessons with Martha Ambrose on location in the Quarter, and then Shirley Romer. That was a real juxtaposition: one quite traditional, with an emphasis on classical drawing and plein air painting; and the other much more contemporary in terms of experimenting with new ideas and materials. I was painting four hours a day at that point, and I decided that I would return to the university. That was the best thing for me. I was exposed to a myriad of possibilities presented in an organized curriculum that allowed me to develop my own way of seeing and thinking about art.”

The self-realization that she was actually a painter instead of a writer motivated Linda to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at UL Lafayette. Linda felt she entered the program in a very “loose” manner compared to the other students because of the combination of abstract and conventional art training she had received at the McCrady School. That experience afforded her a better opportunity to make the most of what the university had to offer. She studied with well-known Louisiana artists William Moreland, Elemore Morgan, Jr., Tom Secrest and Robert Russett.

She also learned the value of networking with other artists: “I learned that being a professional artist is more than selling artwork. One must create a serious body of work. Young people starting out need to examine the venues for exposing their artwork to the public. A lot of opportunities have nothing to do with the sale of paintings, but they expose the work and they expose the artist to a wider audience. Meeting people who appreciate art, meeting other artists, visiting museums to study masterpieces, exchanging ideas and discussing art all help an artist to develop and build a credible background.”

Linda moved to Covington in 1996. She believes that the northshore has given her work a vibrancy and volume that she was previously unable to tap, helping her evolve into directions she’d never even thought of 10 years ago. The community and its unique lifestyle, especially old Covington, remind her of New Iberia, triggering fresh ideas.

“Sometimes you have to step away from what you know to really get back to it,” she says.

Linda’s work is currently on display at the Brunner Gallery in Covington. Her work may also be seen in the permanent collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Orleans Public Art Collection, in the St. Tammany Parish Public Art Collection on exhibit at the Justice Center in Covington, and in many private collections. She invites commentary and discussion of her art, and may be contacted through Brunner Galleries at 893-0444.