My home and art studio in Meraux, New Orleans, were flooded when the devastating Hurricane Katrina hit the city in August 2005. After the water finally receded (which was quite a few days) we were allowed to go back to our subdivision to asses the damage and possibly salvage anything not totally destroyed during the hurricane.
During one of many trips back to the house, I decided I should tackle what was left of my art studio. I figured that at least my tube paints would still be usable. I also resigned myself to the fact that my paintings would be unsalvageable.
My Art Studio After the Hurricane
After being soaked in water for quite a few days, the sheetrock and insulation from the ceiling had fallen in (see photo). But in the chaos I found the tube paints, paint brushes, colored pencils (which had split or cracked), a sketch pad (that dried nicely leaving my pencil sketches in fair shape), and some paintings. The paintings were damaged, but I thought they could probably be reframed (at least for my own studio), so I took them too. I didn’t discount anything at that point.
One of the paintings I salvaged was from another artist in the same art guild as me. The painting, a swamp scene, was matted, shrink wrapped, and soggy, but in the best shape of all the paintings I salvaged (see photo). I removed the shrink wrap, matt and backing, revealing what looked like a painting on fabric, rather than on paper.
When I asked the artist about it, she said the painting had been done on 140lb rag paper (I don’t remember the brand name). The painting dried nicely and I plan to frame it for hanging in my new home (when we finally get one). I also plan on using rag paper from now on, since it has been proven to be very hardy. Though, hopefully, I never have to pull paintings out of a flood-damaged home again.
