November 27, 2023
Isabelle Jacopin, a Brittany, France-born painter, has been drawn to the world of art since her early childhood. Her artistic journey began at the age of 18 when she embarked on a self-taught exploration of various mediums. Initially, she expressed her creativity by painting on silk, a venture that sustained her livelihood. Throughout the years, Jacopin has remained dedicated to her craft by continuously experimenting with different artistic mediums and techniques.
“I started my love story with New Orleans with good luck. I was living in France and wanted to travel to America, and one of my customers asked one day where I would like to go. I said that I’d love to discover New Orleans, and they said they’d buy me a plane ticket if I would give them a painting. In 1998, she visited New Orleans for a month and fell in love with her country's former colony. "The day after I arrived," she said, "I knew a part of my world would be here." Her deepening love for New Orleans prompted her to make the French Quarter her home in 2006.
On her artistic path here in New Orleans, she delved into pastel painting using the vibrant city as her muse. She sketched the lively streets, vibrant clubs and distinctive elements that make New Orleans so unique. Her involvement with local galleries opened doors to numerous artistic opportunities. In 2004, Isabelle transitioned to oil painting on linen canvas, a medium that has held her fascination ever since. Her work is characterized by thick impasto strokes, bursting with vivid colors and energy. Actively engaged in the community, Isabelle had the honor of creating the official French Quarter Festival poster in 2016 along with the Bayou Boogaloo Festival poster in 2012 and the Mardi Gras Moms Ball poster in 2018. She has also contributed many promotional pieces for fundraising efforts including support for our local radio station, WWOZ. During our balmy summer months, she returns to her studio in the charming village of Limeuil in the Dordogne region of southwest France.
“Art is life. I paint everything around me, especially New Orleans. It’s so full of life! I have so many subjects to paint … the musicians on the street, the crowds and buildings. I like doing paintings of crowds to make contrasts between all of the colors. For example, all of the people at Jazz Fest, you can recognize the stage but not the people in my paintings, they’re just a sea of colors and shapes. I also love painting scenes from my balcony, of people and street scenes. I have a different perspective. Most of the street musicians who play in front of my apartment know me.” Jacopin has a "tipping machine," a ball of twine with a paper clip tied to the end. She attaches several dollars to the clip, casts the twine like an angler, and thereby delivers her appreciation for the live entertainment and the inspiration it provides.
“We actually have a New Orleans music festival in my area, the Dordogne valley in France, where we’ve brought great musicians from New Orleans to perform. We’ve had Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and Johnny Sansone. I also listen to WWOZ [New Orleans’ local radio station] online when I’m in my studio in France. I have so many beads and New Orleans decorations there. I miss New Orleans when I’m away, but if you came to my studio, you’d think you were in a French Quarter house!”
In Jacopin’s 19th-century studio and home on the corner of Royal and St. Peter, she can paint with open windows while inspiration in the form of street music drifts in. Doreen Ketchens, a clarinetist frequently wails away below along with many other local musicians, morning to evening every day. It is indeed the most musical corner in America. Her wide wrap-around balcony offers a breathtakingly rich French Quarter view with brick chimneys, wrought iron, street life and slate roofs in all directions. In the distance, she can see the high-rise buildings downtown while a couple blocks away the Creole Queen paddlewheels down the muddy Mississippi River as her calliope plays “When the Saints Go Marching In.” It is easy to see why this perch influences and motivates her so much.
A full-time painter, Jacopin's studio lies just inside the balcony door. Her apartment is a working-artist's lair with few furnishings, a clutter of art supplies, and walls filled with paintings, explosive in color and energy, many depicting New Orleans' most joyous moments. Her paintings depict Mardi Gras, second lines, skeleton gangs, Mardi Gras black masking Indians, brass bands with amazing reflections in tubas, swamp landscapes, Live Oak trees dripping with Mardi Gras beads, French Quarter scenes, Armstrong Park, Jazz Fest and scenes that unfold right outside her studio door on Royal Street. Her oil paintings on linen canvas are all done with various palette knives! She does not use brushes! This gives her evocative paintings a three-dimensional effect; you almost feel like you could just pluck some Mardi Gras beads off of her bead trees and wear them! She does use brushes when she uses acrylic paint on paper. She can sometimes be spotted at Jazz Fest sketching a musical performance on the back of the paper lineup schedule or “cubes” as locals call them. She even paints clothing, mostly her own, which you may see her wearing. She has a wonderfully creative Mardi Gras gown in her studio that she wears occasionally. It is truly a functional work of art!
Jacopin was inspired as a teenager by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and he was the first painter she fell in love with. He was a Post-Impressionist who painted details of his neighborhood and people from his late 19th-century bohemian lifestyle in Paris. It is not much of a stretch to compare life in the French Quarter and life in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris!
To experience Jacopin’s captivating artwork firsthand, pay a visit to her new gallery at 829 Royal St. in the French Quarter. All of her art is original, affordable and unique. You can also connect with her through her website, isabellejacopin.com, Instagram and Facebook for further insights into her creative world.
“I started my love story with New Orleans with good luck. I was living in France and wanted to travel to America, and one of my customers asked one day where I would like to go. I said that I’d love to discover New Orleans, and they said they’d buy me a plane ticket if I would give them a painting. In 1998, she visited New Orleans for a month and fell in love with her country's former colony. "The day after I arrived," she said, "I knew a part of my world would be here." Her deepening love for New Orleans prompted her to make the French Quarter her home in 2006.
On her artistic path here in New Orleans, she delved into pastel painting using the vibrant city as her muse. She sketched the lively streets, vibrant clubs and distinctive elements that make New Orleans so unique. Her involvement with local galleries opened doors to numerous artistic opportunities. In 2004, Isabelle transitioned to oil painting on linen canvas, a medium that has held her fascination ever since. Her work is characterized by thick impasto strokes, bursting with vivid colors and energy. Actively engaged in the community, Isabelle had the honor of creating the official French Quarter Festival poster in 2016 along with the Bayou Boogaloo Festival poster in 2012 and the Mardi Gras Moms Ball poster in 2018. She has also contributed many promotional pieces for fundraising efforts including support for our local radio station, WWOZ. During our balmy summer months, she returns to her studio in the charming village of Limeuil in the Dordogne region of southwest France.
“Art is life. I paint everything around me, especially New Orleans. It’s so full of life! I have so many subjects to paint … the musicians on the street, the crowds and buildings. I like doing paintings of crowds to make contrasts between all of the colors. For example, all of the people at Jazz Fest, you can recognize the stage but not the people in my paintings, they’re just a sea of colors and shapes. I also love painting scenes from my balcony, of people and street scenes. I have a different perspective. Most of the street musicians who play in front of my apartment know me.” Jacopin has a "tipping machine," a ball of twine with a paper clip tied to the end. She attaches several dollars to the clip, casts the twine like an angler, and thereby delivers her appreciation for the live entertainment and the inspiration it provides.
“We actually have a New Orleans music festival in my area, the Dordogne valley in France, where we’ve brought great musicians from New Orleans to perform. We’ve had Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and Johnny Sansone. I also listen to WWOZ [New Orleans’ local radio station] online when I’m in my studio in France. I have so many beads and New Orleans decorations there. I miss New Orleans when I’m away, but if you came to my studio, you’d think you were in a French Quarter house!”
In Jacopin’s 19th-century studio and home on the corner of Royal and St. Peter, she can paint with open windows while inspiration in the form of street music drifts in. Doreen Ketchens, a clarinetist frequently wails away below along with many other local musicians, morning to evening every day. It is indeed the most musical corner in America. Her wide wrap-around balcony offers a breathtakingly rich French Quarter view with brick chimneys, wrought iron, street life and slate roofs in all directions. In the distance, she can see the high-rise buildings downtown while a couple blocks away the Creole Queen paddlewheels down the muddy Mississippi River as her calliope plays “When the Saints Go Marching In.” It is easy to see why this perch influences and motivates her so much.
A full-time painter, Jacopin's studio lies just inside the balcony door. Her apartment is a working-artist's lair with few furnishings, a clutter of art supplies, and walls filled with paintings, explosive in color and energy, many depicting New Orleans' most joyous moments. Her paintings depict Mardi Gras, second lines, skeleton gangs, Mardi Gras black masking Indians, brass bands with amazing reflections in tubas, swamp landscapes, Live Oak trees dripping with Mardi Gras beads, French Quarter scenes, Armstrong Park, Jazz Fest and scenes that unfold right outside her studio door on Royal Street. Her oil paintings on linen canvas are all done with various palette knives! She does not use brushes! This gives her evocative paintings a three-dimensional effect; you almost feel like you could just pluck some Mardi Gras beads off of her bead trees and wear them! She does use brushes when she uses acrylic paint on paper. She can sometimes be spotted at Jazz Fest sketching a musical performance on the back of the paper lineup schedule or “cubes” as locals call them. She even paints clothing, mostly her own, which you may see her wearing. She has a wonderfully creative Mardi Gras gown in her studio that she wears occasionally. It is truly a functional work of art!
Jacopin was inspired as a teenager by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and he was the first painter she fell in love with. He was a Post-Impressionist who painted details of his neighborhood and people from his late 19th-century bohemian lifestyle in Paris. It is not much of a stretch to compare life in the French Quarter and life in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris!
To experience Jacopin’s captivating artwork firsthand, pay a visit to her new gallery at 829 Royal St. in the French Quarter. All of her art is original, affordable and unique. You can also connect with her through her website, isabellejacopin.com, Instagram and Facebook for further insights into her creative world.
