Art & Photography

Item Description

"Crawfish" and "Tipitina's" are both signed prints of the original paintings by John Tebeau. Size of both prints are 11" x 14" - Perfect for a standard frame.

About the Artist:

I grew up in Michigan in a sweet little town nestled between two small lakes which fed into what we called “The Big Lake:” Lake Michigan. Unbeknownst (can’t believe that’s still a word!) to most people around the country, some of the finest beaches ever were (and of course, are) within biking distance of the house where I grew up.

I really started getting into art in second grade. Third grade is when I began to develop what you might call a “voice” (visual humor, puns, goofy characters and the like), and in fourth grade I started adding heart. That’s when I started doing caricatures of classmates who annoyed me. I’d really love to see how those old drawings stand up. My dad eventually threw everything out, but that’s a piteous story for another time.

Fifth grade was comic books—both reading them (Archie, Richie Rich) and making my own—and sixth grade meant dedicated reproduction of my favorite artists: Don Martin of Mad and Dan DeCarlo, who drew Archie. Al Hirschfeld, too. I was mesmerised by his stuff, but I didn’t dig into it as deeply. There were only so many Broadway “original cast” albums floating around the house.

After (reluctantly) leaving my hometown, I attended and graduated from the mighty University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, with a degree in…? You got it. Econ! Extremely useful degree, there. Well, to be fair, I assumed I’d go into business, but…. BUT….

After my first job in Chicago I started designing, printing and selling my own line of t-shirts.  I also had a couple other gigs, including illustration work and helping put out an alt-comix monthly publication. I was getting deeply into “alternative” comix then — artists like Daniel Clowes, Peter Bagge and Robert Crumb. I had a good run in Chicago, and my cartoon work led to several early commissioned paintings; mostly of musicians. Eventually, I sold my t-shirt screens and hopped a ride out to the West Coast.

Landed in Palo Alto, CA and crashed with a friend. What a sweet little town that was! Palo Alto led to San Francisco, where I lived in the (now tony) Hayes Valley neighborhood.

San Fran was good, but chilly. CHIL-LY. Cold and damp, a bone-changing cold that never defrosts. Ask Mark Twain about thatphenomenon. But SF was a visual feast. So many great views, like a postcard over every hill. I took hundreds of photos and started painting more, many subjects from the pix I’d taken around town. After three years in California I moved back to Michigan and got a job at a radio station in Ann Arbor.

In Michigan I had my first actual “art shows” in Ann Arbor and Detroit. Painting, painting, and painting some more. Then selling prints and originals online, via Etsy. I took drawing classes, too, concentrating on landmark buildings around town. I did a lot of poster and packaging design in Ann Arbor to boot, then Wifey got a job in New York, and boom. Here we are.

I’m still painting and drawing plenty and silkscreening again—posters now, not t-shirts. Also concentrating on more “place-based” pieces, as well as sales and commissions. Interested? Let me know.

Contact me about exhibiting or buying a print or an original. Sign up for the newsletter for sneak peeks at what I’m currently working on, special offers for subscribers, contests to win free art, tips on stuff I dig, and, you know… this, that and the other thing.

Item Special Note

The winning bidder is responsible for any & all shipping costs. Local pick up is available at Fountainbleau Storage, 4040 Tulane Ave., New Orleans.