Walking inside the café at Lafayette’s historic village Vermilionville, where the paintings by artist Gene Guidry are on display until the end of December, it occurs to me that it is a fitting venue for his swamp scenes, sugar cane fields, landmark Cajun restaurants and places that reflect his Acadiana. The show is an important one to Guidry who celebrates his return home after living in, albeit, North Louisiana for five years.

Growing up in Lafayette, Guidry recognized his gift for art, but also for translating exactly what he saw onto paper as early as sixth grade and continued leisure artworks through high school and college. While studying architecture for a year in college, he took art classes that furthered his interest, particularly in graphite drawing. After graduating, his work as an engineer in the oilfield took time away from his favorite pastime for nearly 40 years. When the oil industry took a downturn in 2016, he picked up the brush again. A job with the Sabine River Authority as a dam engineer for Toledo Bend fed his appreciation for the outdoors and provided the iconic lake and its dam as the subject for many paintings, inspiring Guidry to develop his skills.

Since then the self-taught artist has painted landscapes and scenes indigenous to Louisiana as well as commissioned portraits. He is inspired by the things he sees in the world and the works of landscape artists like Thomas Kinkade and Jesse Barns. Working with photographs he captures scenes from Delcambre to Carencro and across to Mandeville. “I have a lot of pictures as reference materials,” he assures. Painting landscapes is a never-ending discovery for Guidry who prefers rural landscapes, and everything that comes with them: old tractors, trucks, barns and horses. His studies in architecture led to an appreciation of structures of all forms, “Silos appeal to me. I’ve been waiting to photograph a grain elevator to paint one,” he says.

Taking his time is part of the pleasure of painting for Guidry. “Because I’m detail-oriented, I like to work at a slow pace, and oils allow me to do that; and, I also love the vibrant colors they offer,” he says. As a realistic landscape artist, he says when people look at his works, he hopes they see more than the trees and the sky. “When I draw what I see, I want the person viewing it to imagine themselves there; I want them to feel what I felt in the moment I drew it. I want others to see exactly what I see when I draw, the way the light shines through trees, the way the bark of a tree looks” he points out. That said, he’s recently experimented with other styles and mediums, employing slate, Masonite and hardboard. “I work in such detail that I like a smooth surface,” he explains. His series of colorful New Orleans-style shotgun houses are not only a departure from his comfort zone but also helped him realize a different viewpoint of his work. He shares, “I’m learning I don’t have to give the viewer every minute detail that I see in all cases. I can leave a little bit to the imagination and it makes a better painting when they can fill in the blanks, so to speak.”

Now retired, Guidry awakens at a leisurely 7:30 a.m. and, after coffee, begins painting at 9a.m. for three to four hours. In his workroom there are always several projects in progress. “I like to work on three or more drawings at one time and go from drawing to painting so I can rotate through my work,” he explains. “I find shifting from subject matter helps me if I get hung up on something. Some days I may paint all day and on others not at all. Painting is a stress reliever and a peaceful activity. When I paint family drawings of my grandchildren or the painting of my brother, who’s a sugar cane farmer, walking between rows of cane, I feel a connection to them.”

Since moving back this June, Guidry says he’s wasted no time breaking into the art scene. “When I retired I made a decision to jump into the art world with both feet. I joined L’Acadian Art Guild in New Iberia, the Lafayette Art Association and Basin Arts, and they have all welcomed me. These avenues have afforded me the ability to connect with other artists and build my business in the process. I plan to participate in local art and craft shows.”

At this year’s Sugar Cane Festival Art and Photography Contest, he placed in several categories: first in “sugarcane industry,” first in “black and white,” second in “animals/wildlife,” second in “seascapes” and third in “portraits.”

With a new home in Arnaudville nearly constructed, Guidry anxiously waits to get into the studio that will take up part of his two-car garage. “I’ll also have a spare bedroom in the house designated as a studio for those nights when I want to continue working and have the inspiration of my wife, Jeanie, around me,” he adds, looking fondly at her sitting by his side during the interview. In the meantime Guidry works on a landscape in graphite and an oil painting of a western landscape. He plans a trip to Cypremort Point to capture images of inland waters, marsh grasses and shrimp boats.

While he continues to challenge himself as an artist, the landscape of his life remains constant. “It’s God first, family and art,” he says. With no doubt that his art is a God-given gift, the former engineer says, “Now that my final work is art, it is a blessing that most people don’t have.”