Artist Bio
I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana on March 30, 1982. I’m the youngest of five children. My family, somewhat nomadic, has lived in several houses in and around the city of Lafayette, four of which my mother meticulously designed and oversaw construction. My mother, Lynn Broussard Nugent, is a Speech Pathologist and also a talented impressionistic painter. My father, Jerry Lamar Nugent I, is the President of a self-started oilfield equipment company, and an avid fisherman and hunter. The family camp, which my father built and continually develops, sits on the Atchafalaya River, surrounded by forest in a little area known as Happy Town. Our friends and relatives often gather there on weekends and holidays to enjoy the tranquil surroundings. “The Camp” has offered me an alternative environment; a more natural place; a place that preserves true natural beauty. Family vacations to the beach in Florida and frequent road trips to New Orleans offered a break in the monotony of scheduled life. My parents have been together for thirty-five years, and have worked hard to ensure that my siblings and I were safe and comfortable. Natural environments have become my constant retreat and have influenced my perception of life, personally and artistically.
I remember my first attempt at creating a “work of art,” or rather a visual translation by my own free will. It was in first grade when I drew a jet airplane on a sheet of loose leaf. To my surprise, the drawing impressed my friends and classmates, and thus fueled my interest in the arts. My mother’s amateur, yet skillful oil paintings have always inspired me. During the economic crisis of the early 80’s, my father’s business was struggling. Reluctantly, my mother gave up painting for the pursuit of a Master’s degree to maintain our family’s quality of life. This enabled me to carry out her unfulfilled creative efforts. By second grade I was taking art classes after school and during the Summer. When art was offered through the curriculum of my Catholic elementary school, I never hesitated to enroll. In high school, my art teacher was always supportive and rarely critical, allowing her students to create almost anything we could imagine. All art mediums were available for creative exploration, from drawing and painting to photography and graphic design. The art classroom was my escape from the pressures of school, adolescence and society as a whole. In college I majored in Fine Arts and studied painting, first at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and then on to the University of New Orleans where I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree.
One of my favorite pastimes is driving through the countryside surrounding my home town and taking photographs of the landscape. Fortunate enough to own a car, it enables me to venture outside the man-made cityscape. I’m on a constant search for an unobstructed horizon; a place that contains my idea of pure, natural beauty. My current artistic interest is in Southern landscapes and traditionally painted imagery such as cypress swaps, magnolia flowers, and New Orleans architecture. The experience of being in a place unchanged by modern ideals is what I strive to communicate through my work. I find that being in a natural environment allows mental clarity and instinctive thought. These experiences can be used to better understand ourselves as individuals, and to ultimately establish a connection with nature and all things.
To me, art is living; it’s how we each live and survive. Given the opportunity, and choosing to be an artist, I choose to be everything; an artist’s job is every job. I feel obligated to experience as many perspectives as possible, and to be sympathetic to everyone’s individual position. I create most paintings without visual reference, spontaneously from my imagination and life experiences. Painting has become a meditative act in which I focus on necessity; it’s a way of communicating what I consider universally important. Each work of art represents its creator, revealing personal truths, ideas and beliefs of the artist. I believe that art can express our deepest passions, allowing them to be perceived by everyone. When someone looks at my paintings and relates to the imagery that I specifically paint, it reassures and strengthens my connection with all people.
