Paint parties, pups & pop art | News

Art is a journey waiting to be taken, artist Sherry Francalancia — a.k.a. She Velasquez — says. Fortunately, she has a bridge to help hasten that journey, Bay Bridge Art.

Velasquez recently celebrated the grand opening of Bay Bridge Art at 835 Hwy. 90, Suite 6, in Bay St. Louis.

Bay Bridge Art is both a gallery and a teaching studio, featuring Velasquez’ art as well as works by Shawna Aubrey, Max Bernardi, Oksana Fogg, Mark James, Maggie Mae and Gina Santopadre.

Velasquez also loves to teach others to paint, and hosts classes at the studio and at public and private locations all over the region.

“Whether you are looking to adorn your walls with art from one of our amazing artists or you want to learn how to create it for yourself, we have you covered,” She said.

She offers classes, workshops and paint parties for children and adults.

“We do a lot of summer camps,” She said. “I love working with kids — it really helps them learn to be problem solvers.”

Bay Bridge Art offers both after school and home school art classes, including classes for older children who sometimes “lose their confidence and stop drawing at this age.

“These classes focus on keeping them interested in art by allowing them to draw and paint their favorite subjects from movies, games, comics combined with more traditional teaching methods.”

She said working with adults can sometimes be “a little more challenging. Sometimes the adults don’t seem to have the confidence kids have.”

Currently, she’s working with artist Andrea Koztyol on “transfer painting” techniques, with a workshop this Saturday at the gallery.

About the artist

Velasquez was born and raised in New Orleans, but now lives in Waveland.

She said she’s been drawing and painting and writing poetry since she was a little girl.

“Since I was eight years old — I took a pencil and drew a picture of Marilyn Monroe on my bedroom wall,” she said. “Instead of getting mad, my mom said ‘keep going.’ And I did and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

She’s artworks are featured at festivals and exhibits in New Orleans and all across the Coast.

“I used to show my work at Pirate Alley in the French Quarter,” She said. “I loved it and hated it. It was a lot — a lot — of work.”

She also exhibited in what is now the Rodrigue Gallery in the Quarter.

She has also done a lot of work for New Orleans Mardi Gras krewes, such as the poster art for Athena and portraits for Zulu.

She moved to Waveland about seven years ago.

“We were looking for something else,” she said, “but when I was in Slidell, I saw a listing for a house in Waveland, and the house had this beautiful front porch. We came to look at it, and we didn’t even know the beach was a block and a half away — and this was a third of the cost of other houses we were looking at. I’m really glad I came. We now have two dogs and a cat I never would have met if we hadn’t.”

She also teaches private lessons at Ashyri Paint Box.

She is a huge animal lover, and is very involved in working with the Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County. She also does paint party fund-raisers for animal-related causes.

One of her specialties is teaching people to paint “pop art” portraits of their pets.

About Bay Bridge Art

“If you want art for your home, what we have here is lots, lots different from what you’ll see in other galleries,” She said. “But if you want to make it yourself, we’ll help you. …. I love teaching everyone. The kids are my favorite, but I think art is for everyone.”

The last Thursday of every month, She hosts “Eat, Sip, Paint” at Aztecas Restaurant and Cantina, and can often be found conducting painting parties at Uncle Joe’s Pizza.

To set up a paint party or find out more about the art, call 228-254-0049 or go to baybridgeart.com.