My Creative Mission – Karen La BeauI create to remember.
I create to honor.
I create to make space for the stories that shaped me—and the ones yet to be told.
As a self-taught, third-generation artist, author, and cultural bearer, my mission is to preserve the richness of Black Southern life through vibrant storytelling. Whether on canvas or in the kitchen, my work celebrates the flavors, rhythms, and resilience of the people and places that raised me.
Rooted in my New Orleans heritage and shaped by my journey in Northwest Louisiana, I use acrylic paint, family memories, and shared traditions to tell stories that might otherwise be lost. My art and writing serve as love letters to culture, community, and the women who nurtured both.
I believe storytelling is healing.
I believe culture is resistance.
I believe our everyday lives are worthy of documentation, celebration, and honor.
Through exhibitions, books, and community conversations, I strive to create spaces where people feel seen, connected, and inspired to remember where they come from—and who they can become.
This is my calling. This is my offering.
I paint, I write, and I preserve—because legacy matters.
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​Artist Statement – Karen La Beau
There’s a quiet thrill when I make that first stroke on a blank canvas—intuitive and electric. From that moment, I paint relentlessly, pouring passion into bold, bright color until the final stroke brings relief and fulfillment. Each piece captures a chapter of my story.
I come from a lineage of natural-born artists, deeply influenced by my grandfather, “Abe the Sign Painter,” whose hand-painted signs once filled New Orleans neighborhoods. His legacy taught me the value of persistence and purpose.
My work—what I call My Life on Canvas—is rooted in memory, history, and personal experience. I began painting professionally after Hurricane Katrina, using art to process loss, preserve culture, and reclaim identity. Whether on canvas, wood, windows, or sheetrock, each surface holds a story of where I’ve been and who I continue to become.
 

 

More about Karen

Karen T. La Beau is a self-taught, third-generation artist and cultural bearer from New Orleans, now based in Shreveport, Louisiana. She began painting professionally in 2007, debuting her first show in 2011. Her mixed-media works—on canvas, vinyl, wood, and salvaged materials—tell personal stories rooted in Louisiana’s rich culture.
“I’ve chosen to tell my story through visual art,” she says. “Painting my history is more vivid and powerful than writing it down.”
Her ongoing series, My Life on Canvas, reflects the spirit of New Orleans, life in Shreveport, and experiences across Louisiana. Named a “collectible artist” by critic Robert L. Pincus, Ph.D., Karen’s work is held in private collections nationwide. She was twice honored as Woman Artist of the Year by the North Louisiana Multicultural Center.
Karen is also the author of A Creole Lady’s Stories & Recipes, a heartfelt cookbook blending family recipes, cultural storytelling, and original art—paying tribute to her mother and Black Southern traditions. Through community outreach and arts education, she remains committed to using art as a tool for connection, legacy, and preservation.