Southern Breeze 2007 Holiday Issue

travel ART OF LIVING Defying Dimensions Thad Morgan went from ad man to one of the most requested portrait artists in Louisiana. had Morgan is one of Louisiana’s hottest artists. This 40-year-old Johnny Depp look-alike is a husband, proud father, and former advertising man who now makes a living as a portraitist. And with characteristic rebellion, Thad does it his way: The self-taught painter applies thick, bold-colored acrylics to canvas using the stick ends of the brushes. What may sound on the printed page like a gimmick proves revelatory in Thad’s finished portraits: Vibrant close-ups, created through thick stabs and swirls of paint, are his trademark. Expressive children’s faces, etched in rich variants of reds, yellows, and blues, defy their twodimensional surfaces. Personalities shine. From Cajun cooks stirring simmering pots of gumbo to wincing Zydeco and blues musicians, lost in improvisatory trances, Morgan enlivens all of his subjects with a joyful freshness and lyrical verve. Born and raised in Broussard, Louisiana, Thad T story by LINDA ROMINE photography by C. ROSS Thad Morgan with his work (left) and with his son, Jett (right). For more information: www.thadmorgan.com earned an advertising design and marketing degree at Houston’s Art Institute. “For years, I was a jackof-all-trades,” he says. “I worked offshore, bartended, was a bouncer, worked in retail… a little bit of everything.” In Houston, he was fired from an ad agency over creative differences, and taught art at a private school (a gig he loved), until he lost the job to budget cuts after only one year. Looking to “clear his head,” Thad vacationed in Costa Rica. To make a little money, he painted colorful murals for a restaurant in Playa Negra, a popular Pacific Coast surfing destination. The respite renewed his artistic energy. “When I got home I started experimenting with paints… and bold color. It was just through trial and error that I developed this particular style that I call ‘modern Fauvism,’ ” he explains. “It’s based on the same principals of Fauvism, but I use the balance of fluidity and movement and color to create an emotional weight and harmony in the compositions. I use color strictly as an emotional force. It allows me to kind of capture human imagination.” 20 s o u t h e r n b re e z e . c o m http://www.thadmorgan.com http://southernbreeze.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Southern Breeze 2007 Holiday Issue

Editor's Letter Contributor Gumbo Words & Notes Coastal Calendar Storefronts Sweet Dreams Art of Living Fixtures Our Backyard Make Yourself at Home Beach Bam! A Big Easy Christmas Upwardly Mobile Can't Drive Old Dixie Down Rock On! The Play's the Thing Cheers Dish Chef's Table Let's Eat Reader Services Last Bite

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