My grandfather was a jovial, fun-loving, compassionate man. At Mardi Gras, he seemed to enjoy hearing his Zydeco music the most. He spoke with a creole accent, (mixed with English-French and I don't know what else), but mostly he spoke Creole patois. Rarely did he speak English. Most of the adults in my life growing up spoke Creole patois, especially if they were gossiping about other people. Papa loved to speak patois, he would always complain that my parents didn't teach me the language. My dream was to learn to speak to Papa in his own language. I attribute my love of languages to my grandfather.
(June 2006)
When hurricane Katrina hit in 2005; for my family it was hurricane Rita: I thought it would be a great time to continue the genealogical search of Papa's lineage, and paint something in honor of my grandfather. The painting above (2006) is the second painting of the Zydeco series.
(Sep 2006)
First painting after my head injury.
But by the third painting things got more complicated, it was challenging to do anything after my accident. My language skills, and speaking patterns were almost non-existent after the head injury, except for my patois. Papa's patois stuck. My nurse, in the hospital was from Haiti, and a close friend, spoke French to me and I responded, in my grandfather's native tongue. Speaking to them in Papa's patois helped me eventually back to speaking english. Papa would've been happy I was finally talking again, and speaking his language; thanks Papa.
I decided to put Papa's music on for comfort, while I painted, so I could complete my tribute to my grandfather. Each painting has its own story of Papa.
