Peace, Love, Productivity

A detail from Louis Delsarte’s mural, “Transitions,” installed at the Church Avenue subway station in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. It depicts community life around the West Indian American Day Parade. Credit… Rob Wilson.

Mr. Delsarte moved out West for a time in the 1970s, painting murals in and around Laguna Beach, Calif., living on a commune and settling in Arizona…

Mr. Delsarte in 2018. “I try to elevate the spirit of man and the spirit of humanity,” he said. Credit… Djeneba Aduayom.

Long after he went back East, leaving his hippie days behind him, Mr. Delsarte retained that era’s gentle optimism and earnest belief in peace and love… But unlike many fancy-free hippies, Mr. Delsarte was rigorously productive, creating a large body of work over the decades.

“Carnival,” a watercolor by Mr. Delsarte from 1976. Credit… Louis Delsarte.

In an interview in Time magazine in 2019, Mr. Delsarte offered this self-assessment of his work: “I try to work toward peace, to say that art is the meaning of love, that living on earth is a spiritual quest…”

(Steven Kurutz, “Louis Delsarte, a Muralist of the Black Experience, Dies at 75,” NYTimes, 5-15-20)

About JMN

I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.

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1 Response to Peace, Love, Productivity

Halbarbera says:

May 16, 2020 at 9:20 pm

Beautiful, vibrant art!

LikeLiked by 1 person

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