Katrina

When New Orleans residents were displaced by Hurricane Katrina, many were sent to various shelters around the United States. One of those locations was The Dream Center in Los Angeles.

I went there to paint and hopefully connect with some of the displaced people and offer some support. I arrived to a somewhat circus atmosphere. The Center was crawling with news media, sight seers, motorcycle clubs, and an odd collection of concerned individuals (the group which I suppose I fell into) who probably hindered the staff as much as we did to help.

My plan was to pay some of the new residents to paint their portraits. I was able to complete one before I decided to get out of the way and let the Dream Center staff do their job.