Local artist has work on display in Lafayette

Image

The Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette through the end of the month is featuring 20 pieces of work from local artist Waven Boone.
“It’s incredible, and it’s an honor,” Boone said about having his pieces on display. “A lot of people go through there. On the first day of my display, two bus loads of people from France went through there. They were on their way to Dallas and had been all over New Orleans.”
Boone’s pieces on display consist of oil and water colors, etchings, pen and inks, and silk screen posters.
He explained the pieces mainly display the culture of Evangeline Parish such as his Mamou Mardi Gras posters and his Cajun Music Festival photos. Some of the pieces also portray Evangeline Parish landscapes such as where the Evangeline Club was located as well as Dr. Henry Dupre’s camp.
According to a brochure of his studio, Boone began his art career after being encouraged by his teachers.
“When stationed in the military,” the brochure stated, “he continued his dabbles in various media. Today, as a noted Louisiana artist, he is well known for his prints, hand pulled etchings, silk-screen posters, and paintings in oils and water colors. Having produced close to 11,000 etchings and 6,000 hand pulled silk-screen posters in the last 25 years, he is considered a master etcher.”
Boone explained the process of etching.
“It’s like an engraving,” he said. “I have an etching press. I use zinc plates, and I coat them with acid resistant wax and petroleum products. I let them dry and take a sewing needle to do a drawing on it. I don’t scratch into the plate, but I only scratch enough to remove the wax. I put it in nitric acid for about 15 to 20 minutes and get an etched image on the plate, ink it up, and put it through the press. It’s all hand done from start to finish.”
He continued, “You have to be a metal worker, a chemist, and an artist at the same time. Rembrandt did a lot of etchings. It’s fun when you see that first plate come off the press, and it’s exactly the way you want. It is very exciting.”
The brochure also stated, Boone “has enjoyed much success with his work in notable private and corporate collections and has taken his work around the state, nationally, and internationally as an award winning participant in multiple exhibits in France and Canada.
Boone’s pieces will be on display the Acadian Cultural Center through the end of July, and the center is located near the Lafayette Regional Airport.