A Not So Still Life

Like the wind off the gulf coast, Paul Schexnayder's paintings can be either breezy, gale force or both. His style is sophisticated and lyrical, blending reality and dreams into colorful moving paintings.

Schexnayder's life began in the strong heritage of Acadiana, the area of Louisiana settled by the Acadians, better known today as the Cajuns. Growing up with such a rich drama and stories of the Acadians, Schexnayder found his own way to express these stories and cultural experiences.

Never having any formal art lessons or even holding a paintbrush until he was off to college, Schexnayder graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with a degree in Fine Arts. He still follows his favorite art professor, Dr. Walter Rokowski: draw every day.

Next, Schexnayder taught for four years in Boston at Landmark School, a school for students with reading based learning differences. During this period from 1989-1993, Schexnayder started to define his personal style as narrative. He also traveled to Guatemala and Mexico during this time, and these cultures obviously influenced his color choices and style of painting. These experiences helped define his appreciation for the simpler things in life and a way of portraying life that all may understand.


Market at Chichicastenago, Guatemala

The Boston Globe described his paintings as "an exciting patchwork of color" from an exhibit at the Newburyport Art Association in 1993.

His cultural roots beckoned and Schexnayder returned home to New Iberia, Louisiana. Living in a shotgun house in the historical district, his studio came alive with bright contemporary folk art. He painted on almost anything, old tin and discarded windows and doors' to traditional canvas and wood. Each different surface would become part of the story he was painting.

Later that year, along with his mother and a group of artists, he helped open Left Bank Gallery in historic downtown New Iberia, an alternative artspace home to art, poetry and performances. He also went back to teaching at the Episcopal School of Acadiana. Currently, he is a traveling artist teaching in Iberia Parish.


Drawing study, 2005

Schexnayder's more recent work is quite a departure from his folk art days. In 2002, he began to sketch more and more within a 2 x 2 inch format. The suggestion to paint these tiny studies came from Louisiana landscape artist Elemore Morgan, Jr. "His candid advice was a huge push for me to explore something new." Schexnayder began to paint the small landscapes but still in the same format size and after a year of doing so, he made the leap to larger wood panels. He paints primarily on masonite due to its acceptability of his drawing style. "The hard surface allows me to draw as well as layer color upon color, making my marks throughout the work."

Many paintings incorporate traditional still life objects with figures, some using forms of plane geometry. Each painting has a rhythm and charged movement that creates both an emotional and physical stir.

Schexnayder has shown in numerous group, juried and solo shows throughout the states and abroad and is in many private art collections.


Untilted, 2006