The Boasting Ghost

Proteus! Painting the satire parades is a joy, but Proteus has a special place in my heart. Part of it certainly has to do with the fact that I'm also designing them, so there's more of a sense of ownership. But it's more tan that. It's the oldest night parade in the city - it's been rolling since the 1880's and still uses the original chassis, fashioned from old cotton wagons (complete with wooden wagon wheels that have to shipped off the an Amish contractor in Texas for repairs). One of my coworkers, Dan Dalrymple, described our work as the Galapagos of stagecraft. This is how things used to be made - papier mache, hand painted designs on stretched canvas, plywood cutouts, paper decorations. It's like travelling back in time to a George Melies set. There are bigger and higher budget parades at Mardi Gras. There are parades with celebrity guests and parades that spend thousands of dollars a head on custom-made throws. But Proteus has history and craftsmanship and beauty, and that's enough for me.

This year's theme was "The Ancient Elements of Alchemy". While there are some challenges with such an esoteric theme, the strong advantage is the seemingly endless amount of artwork on the topic that has been preserved over the centuries. To see some of the inspirations for the floats, check out my pinterest that I made while researching for the designs.

"1881: The Dawn of Proteus"
Painted by: Daniel Fuselier

"Philosopher's Stone"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Aether"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"The Great Work"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Gold (Sun)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Silver (Moon)"
Painted by: Ryan Blackwood

"Mercury"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Copper (Venus)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Copper (Venus)"
Cut out by: Scarlett Torrence

"Copper (Venus)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Iron (Mars)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Tin (Jupiter)"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Lead (Saturn)"
Painted by: Ryan Blackwood

"Lead (Saturn)"
Sculpted by: Randy Morrison

"The Emerald Tablet of Thoth"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Water"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Transmutation"
By: Caroline Thomas

"Fire"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Air"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Earth"
Painted by: Hokmayen

"Tria Prima"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

Also: one of the perks of my job is the "prop truck". It is Royal Artists' responsibility to ride with the parade with the necessary tools in case any repairs need to be made along the route (if, say, a float breaks down or a prop needs to be resecured). But, being creative people, the prop truck has evolved into a float in its own right. While our ride might mot as glamorous as the others, we have a blast throwing beads and toys to the hoards of people just the same.

This past year, one if our former coworkers passed away, and, as a tribute, Dan fashioned a Dias de los Muertos-style portrait of him. I hope I get such a grand send off.

RIP Jules

Oh, and be sure to check out Hokmayen's work here. And our other float painter, Ryan Blackwood, keeps a tumblr of his work for Krewe D'Etat and various commission work here.

Until next year!

Oh man, I'm deep in the mad dash of Mardi Gras now. For most of the year, all the floats I paint are crammed together like this:

I spend all year performing harrowing balancing acts on top of extension ladders, sweating through the summer, freezing through the winter, breathing in paint fumes, and trying my damnedest not to get paint on everything I own, all for a show that lasts 2 hours. 2 hours and then they're tucked back into their slots at the den, all to be deconstructed and whited out for the next year. There's only about an hour window of good light once they get them lined up, so yesterday was a wild flurry of picture taking.

I took many more than this, but for now, I'm just posting the floats that I personally painted. For more images (and a very flattering review from Doug McCash) check out the Time Picayune article. Rob Ford with the smoke machine hooked up to his crack pipe is truly wonderful.

And mad props to Ryan Blackwood for designing the floats. It's a pleasure to paint when the content is this good.