ALL ABOUT THE ARTIST
About Christina Pappion | New Orleans Live Wedding Painter | Pappion Artistry
Christina Pappion was born and raised in the heart of Gentilly, New Orleans — a neighborhood that shaped her love of community, culture, and creativity from the very beginning. Her parents worked hard to provide for her, and when they divorced, Christina spent her days with her grandparents in Gentilly. Her grandfather became one of the most important people in her life. When she was restless one afternoon with nothing to do, he pointed her toward her destiny: "You like drawing. Here's some paper and a pencil — draw something." He later added crayons. Then coloring books. Then drawing pads. He kept those crayons for years, always saying they were going to be worth something one day. They were lost in Hurricane Katrina. But the gift they unlocked in Christina was never lost at all.
It was around age five or six that everything clicked. Christina attended a summer art class and walked into the room of a teacher named Miss Betsy — and nothing was ever the same. Miss Betsy was warm, encouraging, and patient in a way that made Christina want to show up every single day. It was in that classroom that Christina first felt what it meant to be completely focused, completely excited, and completely herself. She didn't just like art. She loved it. Miss Betsy gave her that. Christina has never forgotten her.
From that moment, art became her world. She attended Saint Francis Cabrini for elementary school before earning her place at Mount Carmel Academy — one of New Orleans' most prestigious Catholic schools for young women. Mount Carmel didn't just teach her art. It taught her discipline, prayer, faith, and what it means to put God first. She was inducted into the National Art Honor Society, made the honor roll, was a member of the cheerleading and track teams, and took every art class available. Her teachers told her she painted too fast. She didn't realize yet that the speed was the gift.
She went on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of New Orleans, graduating on the Dean's List. She also held an art scholarship to Xavier University, where she spent her first year before completing her degree at UNO.
But Christina never kept her gifts to herself. Even before she graduated, she was already pouring herself into the New Orleans community. She served as a teaching artist at KidSmart and Young Audiences — two of New Orleans' most beloved nonprofit arts organizations — bringing creativity, confidence, and joy into the lives of young people across the city. These years were not just a job. They were a calling. Working with children who needed encouragement, who needed someone to believe in them the way Miss Betsy had believed in Christina, shaped her deeply. She understood firsthand what a single teacher, a single class, a single moment of feeling seen could do for a child's entire life.
From there she joined the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORD), where she became the first person to help launch the Teen Council — connecting young people to culture, leadership, and each other. She partnered with Chevron on programming, oversaw Movies in the Park, and designed branded materials for NORD's summer camps. She also worked at Junior Achievement, continuing her commitment to youth development and community empowerment.
Then one ordinary afternoon, a colleague looked at her art and said: "You should be doing this for a living." That night, Christina built a website from scratch. Three days later she was standing in a room full of New Orleans Saints players — though she didn't know that when she answered the call. The painting sold for thousands, signed by the players. She knew.
What followed was a career blessed beyond measure — and Christina will tell you plainly: it was God. The Superdome. The Pelicans. The Saints. Dixie Beer. Drew Brees. Sean Payton. Gayle Benson. Amazon. Dunkaroos. Hundreds of weddings. Six consecutive years as an official krewe poster artist. Her husband Isaac has been her rock through every chapter. Her daughters Sophia and Gabby are her joy. Her faith — Jeremiah 29:11 — is woven through everything she creates.
She is not just a New Orleans artist. She is New Orleans — its color, its resilience, its grace, its soul.
