One autumn evening in New Orleans, feeling a tad wistful and forlorn, April turned the dial to some vintage jazz on WWOZ, gathered her brushes and acrylics, slip slapped some color on a canvas, and let it take her wherever it would lead.

The result was Booyancy on the Bayou, swampland scenes filled with whimsical spirits carousing amongst the cypress trees weepy with Spanish moss. Eventually what emerged was a heartfelt story about individuality, the company we choose to keep, and, above all else, staying afloat.