Best of the Best
At Mardi Gras parades, spectators take for granted the large colorful floats that pass by, not thinking that someone is responsible for creating it.
For many years, local float builders have hired artists that come and go and might do minimum work on some of the smaller Carnival parades, but there are a handful of veteran float artists that are still alive who began their careers during the '70s and '80s. Their work stands out among the rest and have set standards for younger artists to follow. Their impeccable illustrations on Carnival floats seem to be second to none and would even warrant them jobs at Disney, but all of them chose to stay here in New Orleans to cultivate their careers among an amazing tradition we know as Mardi Gras.
Many of the great float artists, with some being transported from France, such as the Picou brothers, are deceased. However, the heavy influence on theatrical-style backdrop painting has remained resilient throughout many decades of float painting. The veteran artists have taken these influences and coined them into their own styles, which have been head turning pieces of art since their careers have become set in stone.
These artists have different humble beginnings. Some of them were self-taught and others were highly educated amongst holding intrinsic natural talent. Most of their work would have appeared in just about all of the super krewes and some of the older-line krewes. Their works have been seen on floats in parades such as Bacchus, Rex, Hermes, Muses, Endymion, Orpheus, King Arthur, Caesar, Morpheus, Centurions, Mad Hatters, Orion of Baton Rouge, and Comogo of Plaquemine. Their works have even reached as far as Lafayette, Mobile, and Orlando.
Raymond Bowie
Mr. Bowie got his start with the Krewe of Comus through a local designer, namely Henri Schneider. He was commissioned by him to paint the floats for that parade during the late '70s. Bowie had a standard day job at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company as a driver during when he was discovered by the Barth Brothers, who designed and built the gates to the 1984 World's Fair. While at the Barth Brothers company, he painted floats for several krewes.
He then found himself working for Blaine Kern's companies and was offered an artist position to paint the Endymion parade. After standing out as a keen illustrator amongst his peers, the Kerns offered him a lucrative position to paint the Krewe of Rex, which is the granddaddy of all of the Carnival krewes. His work became so impressive that he was well sought after by local float builders. But upon signing an exclusive contract, he was able to reap the benefits of a healthy pay and a recurring contract.
Most of his best works were seen with Rex, the Krewe of Hermes, and the year the Krewe of Bacchus celebrated the "Wild Wild West." Even though he's of retirement age, he remains painting. His beautiful mixture of airbrushing and painting with artist brushes is in a class of its own. His natural talent and gift lend him the ability to portray illustrations on floats as you would see them in children's story books, especially that of Disney.
Anthony Nguyen
Mr. Anthony Nguyen got his career started at Blaine Kern's companies during the late '70s as well. He started by laying floats out through drawing outlines and background colors. The lead artist who supervised him at the time gave him a chance to start detailing floats. When his talent was noticed, the company immediately offered him a position as a detail artist. His career took off.
After working for more than a decade at the Kern companies, he was offered a lucrative position at Rizzuto & Company, where he designed and painted floats among building props. He then moved on to a larger contract with PFJ Floats, where he was able to sustain a lucrative long-term deal and has been painting beautiful floats there ever since.
Amongst his best works are the krewes of King Arthur and Athena. His use of bright, bold colors and precision trim work brought him much notice. He became a household name amongst all of the local float builders. He even painted floats for Universal Studios in Orlando.
Caroline Thomas
Miss Caroline Thomas came from humble beginnings in New Orleans. She was raised mostly in Baton Rouge, but after answering an ad put out by the late Randy Morrison, she jumped at the opportunity to work in Mardi Gras. Miss Thomas received her Bachelor of Arts from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in Ohio. When she returned home, she realized that Carnival was her thing. Royal Artist then hired her full-time when she began her career as a detail artist.
Her claim to fame is her beautiful hand-painted floats for the Krewe of Rex. Upon Royal Artists winning this new contract, it put them in the spotlight as they are the sole designers for all of the old line krewes. Reportedly, she is the only female that is producing such beautiful work on this high level. Not only can she paint, but she can also sculpt papier-mâché figures to give that antique style of Mardi Gras floats an amazing appeal.
Rene Pierre
The last veteran mentioned here is Mr. Rene Pierre. He is also a citizen of New Orleans and was formally educated at the University of Xavier and Delgado, where he studied the arts. He entered the Mardi Gras industry through the defunct Barth Brothers company as a lay-in background artist. While there, he also assisted in papier-mâché crafts to coat props that were built by Joseph Barth III.
Pierre was introduced by Mr. Barth to Mr. McKinley Cantrell, Jr. of Kenner, who's studio, Cantrell Studios, then won a contract with the Krewe of Babylon. Once his talent was noticed, the father of Mr. Cantrell was also interested in contracting him to detail floats for his business. This is where he got his first start as a detail artist. A decade later, he was offered a lead artist position at PFJ Artists Inc. in Westwego. He then began to make his way around to several companies, granting him more notice.
The Krewe of Comogo of Plaquemine contracted him to design and paint floats for their parade in 2014. Shortly after, another Baton Rouge area krewe commissioned him and this prompted him to open his own mobile business. Mr. Pierre was trained by the great Raymond Bowie and learned several techniques from him that granted him his refined style of float painting. He also holds a contract with the Rizzuto & Company in St. Rose, Louisiana where he solely paints for the Krewe of Morpheus.
