This is about as representational as I ever get,” says artist Billie Bourgeois, who generally finds inspiration for her abstract paintings through the studio windows that look into her junglelike backyard. But recently, two little cotton-and-yarn dolls purchased from a street market vendor in San Miguel de Allende have occupied the longtime Baton Rougean’s eye. “I intended to give them to my granddaughters,” she admitted, “but then I started to draw them, and decided to keep them for myself.” Bourgeois loves the dolls’ tactile elements—their stripes and patterns and, though they’re small, likes to draw them large and incorporate them into her still-life scenes.
In Baton Rouge, works by Billie Bourgeois can be found at Ann Connelly Gallery. Or visit www.billiebourgeois.com.