Louis St. Lewis, what you doin' up in here?

Acclaimed artist and bon vivant Louis St. Lewis, who grew up in Wadesboro before he left to conquer the international art scene, is returning to Allison Sprock Fine Art Nov. 18. Now living on a farm outside Chapel Hill, St. Lewis will be at the gallery at 600 Queens Road from 6 to 9 p.m. to talk with guests and show some of his newest works. Details: www.allisonsprockfineart.com.

I met him when he visited the gallery last year and he has one of the world's great personalities and the talent to back it up. There's a reason why his works are in the collections of Oprah Winfrey, Christian LaCroix, former Vogue editor  André Leon Talley and the late Maya Angelou as well as museums including the New Orleans Museum of Art.

I can't wait to walk in and say, "Louis St. Lewis, what you doin' up in here?" That's one of his many funny sayings. Try using it sometime instead of the usual party chitchat introductions when you walk up to a stranger and ask how they know the host. Instead, in a very exaggerated Southern accent, just walk up to someone at your next event and say, "What you doin' up in here?" It's a much more fun icebreaker.

His mixed-media collages are based in mythology and religions. Another fan of his, Andy Warhol, once commented that St. Lewis' work was “like Hieronymus Bosch meets MTV."

But it's Louis St. Lewis' bright spirit that's the true work of art, so if you get a chance drop by.

Here are some of his creations:

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