2026

GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL

RESILIENCE

EXHIBITION

PATRICIA CHATELAIN

PATRICIA CHATELAIN

(Metairie, LA)

Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain

encaustic on wood panel, 5 x 7 inches, framed 10 x 12 inches

$1800 + $126 tax + $45 shipping fee  =

$1971 Total Price

Artist Statement:

Summers in New Orleans have always been uncomfortable with the heat and humidity combined, but the summer of 2023 was the hottest summer on record, with triple-digit temperatures for over fifteen consecutive days.

Most of my mornings are spent walking and sketching along Lake Pontchartrain, in the area of the shore between the lake and the levee. In the summers, I must leave the house before daybreak in order to get out before the heat gets unbearable. The first two weeks of August of 2024 had the most severe heat wave of that summer, with local heat indexes between 110 and 115 degrees. This painting was inspired by the extreme heat on the morning of August 15th of that year. It also captures the efforts of the City Levee Board and the Corps of Engineers as they made changes to the shoreline, dredging the lake and adding soil to create a series of wind breaks in anticipation of the storms and hurricanes that typically arrive in the area in late August.

Ironically, in January of 2025, an arctic storm brought up to 12 inches of snow to the New Orleans area, marking another record-breaking weather event in the city. Our elected officials, as well as ordinary citizens of Louisiana, are constantly keeping up with the changing weather and environmental issues that confront our cities and coastal areas.

Click here to return to the Global Warming Exhibit main page.