Born and raised in Plain Dealing, self-taught artist Gayla Weems is a Bossier Parish girl through and through. She’s grown up, raised her family, and experienced life all right here. 

“Bossier Parish has been so good to me, I know many of the people in Bossier Parish and I love every one of them, ” Weems exclaimed. “They have supported me and encouraged me, truly.”  

She’s been a mail carrier and a hairdresser and began painting in the early 80’s. With the help of a friend and retired Bossier Parish art teacher, she learned more about specific brushes and types of paints. From then on, she was hooked. 

While she’s been creating art, she’s had friends who have encouraged her along the way by buying her crafts and supporting her passion. However, her art took off in 2019 when she was approached about selling her artwork in the Emerging Artists Tent at the Red River Revel Arts Festival. The goal of the Emerging Artists Tent is to bring awareness and showcase up-and-coming artists in the area and it did just that for Weems.

“My art just exploded and it’s just gone from there and it’s just been great, ” Weems said. 

Weems’ art is Southern style with some lagniappe of colors, glitter, gold flakes, and texture. Using oil paints, acrylics, inks, resin, and now charcoal, Weems creates beautiful paintings and structured paintings fit for any Louisiana lover. 

“I try to do decorative art,” she said. “I like decorating and fixing up homes.”

A recent opportunity allowed her to help with staging the local St. Jude’s Dream Home which is used to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. When she was contacted and asked if she’d like to provide some of her art in the home, she was more than honored to do so. It went well for Weems when one of the paintings, a beautiful pelican piece, was sold to a viewer of the home who fell in love with the painting. 

Weems does several commissioned artworks but has her favorites to create on her own.

“I love the pelicans but I like to paint old barns and cotton fields,” Weems said. “I love southern things. I love anything Louisiana.” 

Her paintings range anywhere from 4 by 4 block paintings to her biggest one measuring five feet tall. 

“I like big paintings and I like to paint big,” Weems said.

Each painting brings its challenges but she’s able to complete them with her passion to paint.

“I have this desire in me, I just have to paint,” she said. “I don’t know what I’ll do whenever I can’t do it anymore.”

Weems describes herself as an early riser. Each morning she gets up and gets ready for the day ahead of her. She’ll put on her painting clothes, maybe light some candles and turn on her music and then she paints. This routine happens every single day and she paints for most of the day, sketching about four to five paintings at once.

“When I do a painting I just take a paintbrush and go to working it until I get it sketched out then I go to filling it in,” she said. “I don’t even know how you’re supposed to do it really because I never took art lessons. I just started painting.” 

These paintings take time and like all art pieces, are an investment for your home. 

“The kind of paintings that I do, they’re expensive for me to make and I try to keep my costs down as much as I can,” she said. “I use the best quality resin, paints and I have my frames built now. Everything I try to do so it’ll last for years to come. I try to do art that is not so trendy that it will be out of touch in a few years.” 

Creating these pieces is a passion project turned career for Weems. She puts her heart into every piece she makes and it can be seen reflected on the canvas. 

“With every painting that leaves here, a little bit of me goes with it,” she said. “I put so much work in it, all artists feel that way.”

With Weems being a self-trained artist, she believes that anyone with the desire to paint can do it. You don’t have to be a certain age or experience; just pick up a brush and try. 

If you’re interested in owning a piece by Gayla Weems, you can find her on Facebook as Art by Gayla Weems or email her at artbygaylaweems@gmail.com. Her art can also be found in a few galleries in the surrounding area as well as at the Red River Revel in Booth 54 until October 6.