Lance "Varg" Vargas is a blogger, artist and office manager in the Algiers Point neighborhood of New Orleans. He moved back to New Orleans in April 2004 after spending a year in the city in the late '90s. He began creating naive art work in February, 2007.

Varg draws from his perspective as a newcomer to the region for inspiration. As he listens to stories told by the locals and observes his surroundings with a naive eye, he tries to create as he goes, taking things he has seen around the region and recreating them. A certain phrase, a local character, these are the subjects of his art.

He also draws on the Mexican folk art he noticed in while living in San Diego and various signs and thrift store art in Pensacola, Florida.

Varg also tries to bring back wood and fixtures from gutted houses around his neighborhood. In creating his works, he tries to buy as little materials as possible, prefering to find wood, tree branches and trinkets on the side of the road or around the house.

"I have made a rule for myself that I will use as much restored and salvaged material for the pieces as possible," he said. "As a result of the flood, there is a ton of great wood with a lot of stories to tell sitting on the side of the road throughout New Orleans. I'm just trying to grab as much of it as I can and turn it into something somewhat cool and get a little more life out of it. There is a lot to be said for paint on wood. It looks down-homey and authentic, a little bit advertising, a little bit inspiration, a little bit art. I try and give it all a little something extra, some flavor," he said.

His art ranges from faux voodoo pieces to hurricane-inspired work to short, cheerful phrases in French and Spanish. He is also fond of rabbits and creates fragments of folk tales based on the sources such as the novel Watership Down, Native American trickster tales, the Br'er Rabbit stories and Bugs Bunny cartoons. He will also paint your address on a piece of wood for you if you want. In fact, he will paint anything on a piece of wood for you if you want.

Vargas was born in San Diego and raised on Perdido Key, Florida a few miles from the Florida / Alabama line. He has previously been a journalist and graphic designer for La Jolla Light Newspaper in La Jolla, California and a manger in the hospitality industry around the Redneck Riviera area where he grew up.

His writing can be found at www.thechicory.com. His portfolio is at www.lancevargas.com.