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Ghastly cartoonish figures, vibrant neon colors, and a pinch of Louisiana symbolism jump from the surfaces of Ethan Molinere’s artwork, which range from haunting photographs of statuesque grave markers to mixed-media paintings of morbid creatures.
“I find myself doing a lot of dark artwork. I’m a big fan of horror movies, horror stories, stuff like that, and a big fan of cartoonish kinds of style,” Molinere says.
The 22-year-old resident of Montegut’s artistic career began as soon as he could draw. “I’ve been drawing ever since I was 3. That’s when my parents said I really started picking up a pencil and putting things on paper. My whole life I’ve shown some artistic flair and I’ve always expressed myself via visual media.”
Molinere’s interest in the visual arts was fed throughout his academic life. “All throughout grade school, I was placed in GT Art, the gifted and talented program for people who showed potential,” he says. “I continued that with college. I was minoring in visual arts and majoring in political science. When it boiled down to political science, I figured I couldn’t really afford the six-digit figures for student loans to get to grad school, so I really started focusing on my visual arts. I attended the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, and while I was there, tons of people liked my artwork. They expressed (that) I should put up my paintings throughout Lafayette. I started putting out paintings and people loved it.”
While Molinere’s current work consists primarily of paintings, his first artistic work was far simpler. “I originally started out just doing pencil drawings, working with graphite and monotone colors. I had a distinct lack of color in my artwork for a very long period of time, and a lot of people expressed to me that they’d like to see color in my work. I made the conscious decision to really explore that field, and I started really messing with acrylics, pencil colors, stuff like that, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Now all I pretty much do is painting. I love painting. Painting’s my everything now. I also do photography and I still do pencil work and all that stuff, but a lot of the things I show and a lot of the works I have displayed are paintings.”
Molinere has also developed a passion for connecting with people, especially other local artists, through social media sites. “I’m really big into social networking. It’s a skill that I’m continuously growing. I met some great artists out there.”
Social networking is also how Molinere learned of Art Versus, the exhibition held the last Friday of every month in downtown Houma’s The Boxer and the Barrel.
“I moved down here and a friend of a friend, a photographer that I was helping, she caught wind of Art Versus,” Molinere says. “Still being new to the environment and grasping at anything art related, I immediately jumped on the bandwagon. I contacted the people that sponsor Art Versus and started bringing my artwork over. I was extremely skeptical at first, but I actually sold a good bit of artwork, and I was really impressed with it. They helped me tremendously with giving me a place to show my artwork, and I’m always willing to return the favor and help find other artists that can participate in something like this.”
The inspiration for Molinere’s artwork is quite varied. Stylistically, he draws from well-known masters such as the surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, to contemporaries such as Paul Booth, one of the foremost artists in the tattoo business. But one of his greatest inspirational sources comes from the culture of Louisiana, especially religion.
“One of the biggest things in south Louisiana is religion,” says Molinere. “You see a lot of that in cemeteries and gravestones. I took the time to creep around some graveyards, and I would look at altars and grave markers, and I would see some of the most beautiful things.”
Religious imagery, and local southern motifs such as magnolias and fleur-de-lis, is infused into many of Molinere’s works: “A person may have the most, hundred percent confidence and faith and what not, but religion is always a prevalent thing on a person’s mind. It’s also another crucial aspect of Louisiana art, or Louisiana influence.”
Molinere’s current work is quite varied, ranging from projects for the creative community website www.deviantart.com, to commissioned pieces for friends, to spreading the word about Art Versus. He is also working with Tami Charbonnet, owner of Houma’s Seion Gallery of Fine Art, on having some of his paintings and photography displayed at her establishment, as well as potentially teaching a class on creating mixed-media artwork.
Looking to the future, Molinere is planning on further expanding his mixed-media paintings. “I’m currently working on bridging the gap between 2-D and 3-D. I’m working on a painting that’s actually coming out at you; it’s a person reaching (out) of the painting.” He would also like to return again to his artistic roots. “I’ve been painting a lot,” he says, “but I feel that I need to start working back to some pencil and paper.”
One of the biggest changes Molinere has seen down south after returning from college is the budding art community in Houma. “A few years gone from the area and a lot of things changed. That art movement that’s happening in Lafayette, I see it happening now – a huge art movement that’s going on in Houma with Art After Dark, Art Versus. … People are really pushing this and making this work, so I’m really happy about that. I’m just enjoying sitting back and seeing where the art scene in Houma’s going to take off.”
Ethan Molinere’s artwork can be seen throughout this month at The Boxer and the Barrel leading up to Art Versus on July 27.
Ethan Molinere showcases his work through July 27 at The Boxer and The Barrel’s Art Versus. The 22-year-old Montegut resident began drawing at age 3.
