John Weimer, chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, is quick to use humor to downplay his abilities with a paintbrush.
An upcoming exhibit to display his work at the George Rodrigue Gallery in the French Quarter will feature the “amateur” hand of someone who is “obviously a self-taught painter,” Weimer said.
But he allowed that anyone viewing his art might just give it a good review.
“You be the judge,” he said.
The public opening for the show will take place on Nov. 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and his more than 100 paintings will remain on display for at least the following month.
Weimer said he became interested in painting as an undergraduate of Nicholls State decades ago. It was there that he took his only art class.
His more experienced classmates, he said, “were kind enough to give me a few pointers. That was the extent of my training, if you will.”
Over the years, Weimer has mostly painted rustic scenes in his home area – in and around Thibodaux and Lafourche Parish.
During a recent dinner, he took a break from the conversation to quickly sketch a live oak tree on a scratch piece of paper.
Weimer said he paints in fits and starts, depending on his work schedule and mood. He has been so busy after becoming chief justice in 2021 – a position he holds because he is the longest serving justice on the seven-member court – that he has completed only two paintings since then, he said.
None of the paintings at the upcoming exhibit are for sale because Weimer doesn’t want to sell his work to anyone who might appear before his court one day. He eventually plans to donate most of the paintings to charity.
Asked why he paints, Weimer offered another self-deprecating remark.
“I’ve really gotten a great deal of satisfaction from doing the paintings, using the rudimentary skills I’ve been blessed with,” he said. “I’m a painter and let everyone else be the judge if this really qualifies as art or not. I’m not going to flatter myself by calling it art.”