FRANKLIN — The sound of smooth jazz filled the room as patrons from across the Teche Area filled Franklin Recreation Center for a peek at the offerings of various artists during the City of Franklin’s Artists and Appetizers event held Saturday evening.

“Oh it’s fantastic,” Centerville resident Diane Nugent said. “I’m loving the music and I love this painting of an angel going to heaven and the photos of the egrets are wonderful. This should happen once every month or so.”

A total of 17 artists were on display with works that ranged from colored pencil drawings to acrylic paintings, photography, poetry and books.

“You see diversity in the paintings in the colors,” first-time patron Deidra Lewis said. “This is my first artist event and I’m really enjoying it. Art is just like music, it soothes the soul.”

Some visitors came from as far away as Texas to support the artists featured in the event.

“Nikia Bundage has poems that she’s written and I came from Houston to support her and her work,” said Damon Lewis. “But now that I’m here, I’m really enjoying the range of artwork there are some great exhibits.”

Artists participating ranged in age and art experience but signs of a novice were hard to detect from the projects on display.

“I’ve been drawing since I was four but I got to my first art class when I was in sixth grade,” said 14-year-old artist Jada Thibodeaux of Lafayette. 

Thibodeaux wasn’t the only young talent.

“I’ve been drawing and painting for four years,” said 14-year-old Christopher Bailey of Morgan City. “Images like the Bayou and Atchafalaya draw my interest,” 

“I’ve been painting since I was about 12, I’m going to Nicholls in the fall,” Franklin artist Maegan LeBlanc explained. “I love to paint. It is calming and helps with nervousness.”

For others who had their works on display, they have turned their passion into a stream of income some very recently while others are more seasoned as artists who sell their works. 

With the encouragement of friends, Jamie Wagnon of Lafayette began to turn her hobby of taking wildlife photos into extra income just eight months ago. She encourages other artists who are still shy about their work to just put it out there.   

“If it’s something you enjoy just go for it, go ahead and do it,” Wagnon said.

Franklin-based artist Caroline Simoneaux, who has become known in the area for her Fleur De Lis paintings even creating a Fleur De Lis Lampost painting to put her spin on the city’s historical attraction, said her full time artist career comes with a circumstance.

“As luck would have it I was laid off and I took advantage by being as creative as possible and started selling my paintings,” Simoneaux said.