LAFAYETTE PARISH — Lafayette artist Dirk Guidry doesn’t hesitate when asked how his journey began, and he frames it in his own words. “What is my story? It’s a story of just you know, fulfilling my dreams I guess. Being a successful artist at a young age,” he said. Guidry grew up in Galliano, where his parents enrolled him in Talented and Gifted programs after noticing his early skill. “I was always good at art, and I have to thank my family, especially my mom for really leaning into that,” he said.
He moved to Lafayette for college and said the environment shaped both his training and his connection to the local arts community. “I did fall in love with not only the area but the upper education,” he said. Even with strong support at home and in school, he said the business side of art was one of his biggest challenges. “I didn’t wanna do the finances, I just wanted to create but you have to accept the fact that if you want to truly create you need to find a system and find ways to sustain yourself,” he said.
Guidry said he took on every job he could before getting what he considers his first major break in 2015, when one of his pieces was selected for the former Wyndham Gardens Hotel on Pinhook Road. “A lot of the norm is go get your masters and become a professor which seemed great but things took off for me,” he said. That project led to a steady increase in work, allowing him to establish himself as a full-time artist specializing in abstract paintings, murals, and live wedding art.
Guidry said the journey hasn’t been easy, and he faced moments where he questioned whether he could continue. “There were a number of times too where I was like I’m not gonna make it, I’m not cut out for this,” he said. Those experiences, he explained, still inform how he approaches new work, “What I’m putting out is really an extension of me,” he said.
In addition to his studio work, Guidry works closely with Basin Arts. “I’m also the director of Bare Walls which is run through Basin Arts to where we help connect local business with local artists,” he said. For him, success comes from connecting with viewers as much as from completing a project. “Success for me was to be able to create artwork that was enjoyed and loved and really valued,” he said. He said he wants other artists to feel encouraged as well. “I just wanna reassure other artists that what you’re doing is important,” he said.
Guidry’s work now appears across Lafayette Parish, from schools to traffic boxes, and soon outside the Children’s Museum, where he is developing a new mural. He said the ability to keep creating remains the heart of his career. “If I’m able to put paint to the canvas it’s a win,” he said.
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