By Sarada Bonnett
For 19 straight years, we have been south Louisiana’s premier venue for some of the nation’s finest artists to share their creations with tens of thousands of art lovers.
Our festival features full-time, working artists who have spent years perfecting their craft. Each artisan handcrafts their work, ensuring that each of our patrons will discover a one of a kind masterpiece, destined to become a treasured part of their home.
Because we want to bring you only the best artists possible each year, Covington Three Rivers Art Festival is a juried show. Out of the 400 or so talented artists that apply to be in our festival each year, we only accept the 200 most highly scored by our jurors. This weekend, you truly will see the best of the best. Incidentally, our jurors change every year to ensure that you are exposed to a wide variety of tastes. Art is a subjective experience, and although we use jurors with an art education background, they all have a different art “palate.” Get it?
As the Event Coordinator, I am fortunate to see the festival unfold throughout the year. Although our event takes place in November, the process actually begins each year in February, when the artists apply to be accepted to that year’s festival. I’m also very fortunate to hear what the artists say about our town and the hospitality they are shown. Some of our artists have even talked of moving to St. Tammany Parish because of the amazing people they have met here.
Join us this November 14 and 15 for a stroll down Columbia Street in historic downtown Covington. You’ll find tent after amazing tent filled with pottery, jewelry, furniture, metal work, paintings and so much more. If you shop till you drop and need to rest for a while, head over to our food court and music area. There, you’ll be tempted by an impressive line up of restaurants, including first-timers, Scotts’ Coffee & Tapas Bar, and longtime festival favorite, Beck N Call. While you grab a cocktail and a few gourmet samplings, enjoy the sounds of Christian Serpas, Casey Krebs and other talented, local musicians.
Don’t forget the Student Art Exhibition, featuring submissions for St. Tammany budding artists of all ages. Check the program insert for all of the details and schedules.
On behalf of our dedicated board of directors and all our amazing artists, I welcome you to the Covington Three Rivers Art Festival. Thank you for being part of the best arts experience in south Louisiana!
2015 Poster Artist Keith Andry
Keith Andry is not new to the art world. Born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Keith sold his first painting at the age of six. In his early teens, he gleaned knowledge from internationally-acclaimed artists in watercolor workshops, developing his own personal style.
The challenge that watercolor provides makes it his favorite painting medium, “The transparency, the airy quality that a watercolor possesses, and the freshness obtained by touching the paper only once, is what I strive to maintain.”
When Keith was chosen as the poster artist for the 2015 festival, he decided to visit Covington to get a feel for the downtown area. After taking several photographs throughout the historic downtown, he remembered setting up for the festival with his son Collin several years earlier, “All he talked about was how ‘cool’ the H.J. Smith & Sons Store was. I knew that this general store represented a past. I felt that this would be a meaningful way to convey a little history of downtown Covington, thus the title ‘Wheels of Time.’ My son was right… This is a ‘cool’ place!”
“My focus is on strong design, the juxtaposition of colors, and the interaction between light and shadow. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment to see the blank paper come to life with a ‘painterly’ style that I believe makes my work so unique.”
With numerous awards and signature memberships in the National Watercolor Society, the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and the Louisiana Watercolor Society, Keith’s reputation has brought his works to many public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. Keith is listed in Who’s Who in American Art and American Artists of Renown, and has been featured in American Artist and The Artist’s Magazine. You can view his work at andryfinearts.com.
