Tami Curtis-Ellis' painting of Irma Thomas.

South Louisiana has an energy all its own, and local artist Tami Curtis-Ellis makes it her mission to share it with the world. Part expressionism, part impressionism and part folk art, Curtis-Ellis paintings are vibrant with color and often incorporate architectural salvage such as mantles, transoms or window screens. She dubs the style “high-energy art,” and while her subjects range from famous Louisiana locales to nature imagery, she is best known for her life-sized portraits of South Louisiana musicians, such as Louis Armstrong, Irma Thomas, Deacon John and Fats Domino.

“I try to capture the energy of whatever’s happening around me,” she says, “whether I’m out kayaking or listening to live music.” Influenced by her father, a self-taught artist, she attributes the uniqueness of her medium to watching him experiment when he didn’t know exactly what he was doing.

“I loved the innocence of it. There was no right or wrong way to do things.”

A Louisiana native, Curtis-Ellis has lived in almost every corner of the state, spending her childhood in Hornbeck and Leesville before in Ruston and then residing in Monroe, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. After years of owning art-based businesses and then teaching art at Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville, she began testing the waters of the art world by entering the local art market scene.

“I realized quickly that I had an audience, so I quit my job, took out my retirement and started this full-time,” she says.

Curtis-Ellis has exhibited her work nationally and recently been commissioned for several festival posters. This year marks her seventh appearance at Jazz Fest, where she will be featured the second weekend in Contemporary Crafts.

She’ll never forget the year when Little Freddie King wandered by her booth and unexpectedly discovered two portraits of himself. “He went in there laughing and clapping those long, nimble fingers,” she says. “In between laughs, he just repeated, ‘That’s faaaaaaantastic!” He signed the two portraits, one of which sold within an hour, and the other Curtis-Ellis kept.

“That excitement, that friendliness plays a part in my work,” says Curtis-Ellis. “That energy that runs through these musicians, it always intrigues.”

Tami Curtis-Ellis is at Jazz Fest the second weekend, May 3-6 in Tent G at Contemporary Crafts.