Island of Color

The run-down stretch of West Washington Boulevard in L.A.’s Mid-City area may not look much like a gallery district. But Jean Joseph Monfort, a Haitian immigrant who opened his own storefront studio on the boulevard seven years ago, is evidence that appearances can be misleading. The self-taught oil painter moved to the United States 18 years ago and sells his naif-style scenes of Haitian village life from the studio and at art festivals nationwide. Monfort, 50, recently sold an oversize painting of a lagoon at sunset to Vincent Berkeley, a Burger King senior vice president, who is making it the centerpiece of his living room in Coral Gables, Fla. “Its rich colors and fine detail make it a conversation piece,” says Berkeley.

Fellow Washington Boulevard artists have also taken note of Monfort’s creative presence. Says Gary Jones, puppet master of the Blackstreet USA Puppet Theatre: “Most artists work behind closed doors. But he paints in his window, so people can watch. His visibility adds to the community.”

With ground recently broken on construction of the 402-seat, $8-million Washington Boulevard Performing Arts Center, the area could well become L.A.’s new SoHo, says Nate Holden, city councilman for the 10th District. For his part, Monfort keeps painting, hoping “to pull my viewers down a dirt road at sunset, barefoot, to a turquoise sea.” Not exactly the formula to revive a blighted neighborhood. Or is it?

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J.J.M. Primitive Art Studio, 4656 W. Washington Blvd.; (323) 931-9205.