If you want to do something really cool, very local, and off the beaten path, visit an artist’s studio. New Orleans is a magnet for artists, and many have set up shop, studio, and home in some unique locations.
Amanda Talley is a young artist very much in demand by top interior designers and decor aficionados everywhere. Her beautiful work is recognizable and pleasing in every way.
Amanda says this about her work: “Light, color, and energy are reflected in a fractured window view of the underside of a live oak or in the curls and folds of an elephant ear.”
Her pretty studio, located on the ground floor of an old house, is a familiar fixture on a residential part of Magazine Street in the Garden District.
Amanda is an accomplished decorator herself, having learned from her mother; by attending art school at Savannah College of Art and Design and while working for eight years as an assistant to the legendary designer Gerrie Bremermann, named a top 100 designer by Architectural Digest.
So while her studio is a working one, it has some very pretty decorator touches, like iconic mid-century furniture and cow hide rugs.
Amanda’s paintings come in all sizes – from large canvases to smaller pieces that are perfect to pack in a suitcase. Taking home a piece of art done by a New Orleans artist is the best souvenir you could possibly want.
So take a walk in the Garden District and visit Amanda’s studio. The Magazine Po Boy & Sandwich Shop is right across the street, so you can combine lunch with your studio visit. Be sure to say hello to Amanda’s dogs Phil and Don, who have the good design sense to match the rugs on the floor of the studio.
Corner of First Street and Magazine Street
Tuesday – Sunday 11 – 5
(504) 957-8479 or astonetalley@yahoo.com
Until next time, I am the Visual Vamp and Magazine Street is my beat!
