Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Adrian Deckbar was raised in one of the cultural and artist centers of the United States. Deckbar exhibited amazing natural talents early on and decided to pursue her artistic interests professionally, earning multiple degrees in paintings and drawing from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (BA 1974), San Francisco State University (MA 1997, and Tulane University (MFA 1981). It was while Deckbar was at SFSU that she realized her passion lay in photorealistic painting. Studying under the renowned photorealist Robert Bechtle, she refined her skills as a painter while developing techniques that would drive her entire artistic career.

Adrian Deckbar’s artwork is defined by her photorealist techniques. Using dramatic light and bold perspectives, she creates emotional images that combine traditional painting with the contemporary nature of photography. Primarily using oil, pastel, and gouache paints, she begins the process by taking a photograph, “catching a moment in time, a fly in amber.” She often crops the pictures in interesting ways, resulting in mysterious, theatrical scenes that lead the viewer to contemplate what is outside the borders of the picture as much as what is within them. Deckbar then uses her natural talents and years of artistic education and experience to transfer the image to canvas using oils and pastels. The resulting paintings are widely collected around the United States and abroad and can be found in public and private collections, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Breneau University, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.