Texas
Grandeur
Six Boerne ~Hill Country Artists
Gabriel
Diego Delgado
The Texas Hill Country is a regionally recognized location
that spans from Wimberley, New Braunfels and runs north through Boerne, up to
Fredericksburg and beyond; including over a dozen counties. With the abundance
of land and property and wide open Texas plains, it has become a haven for ex-city
slickers looking to leave behind the ever expanding metropolis of San Antonio
and family ranchers hanging onto a way of life away from the hustle and bustle.
This
rustic environment has also been the breeding ground for artists finding muse,
solitude, open air, and inspiration from this environment.
Artists
whose studios are nestled in the solitude of the Texas Hill Country are
inspired and influenced by these unique surroundings. They paint the beauty of
the landscape, portraits capturing the sincerity of the people; while finding inspiration
in the livestock, cattle and ranch land.
With
Boerne, Texas acting as the adjoined sister to San Antonio, it is often the
first stop to art patrons making their way up to the northern part of the Hill
Country. The allure of Boerne, Texas rests in the unique fine art galleries
that litter the Main Street drag; five galleries that electrify the second
Saturday of each month with the 2nd Saturday Art & Wine art walk.
These galleries as well as a host of artists make up the Boerne Professional
Artist and Hill Country Arts Alliance, membership based organizations that
promote the regional art community.
Within
these artists and galleries that call the Hill Country home are a group of selected
artists that encapsulate what it means to be a Hill Country artist—true Texas
spirit reflective in their artwork; various disciplines that hold true to a
time honored tradition.
Cliff
Cavin, Becky Rogers, Linda Chalberg, Donna McKelvey and Danny Phillips and Eunice Hundley each have a definitive style and luster in their artwork that screams
Texas Pride.
Cavin is a purist, dedicated to the capturing of light, of atmosphere, of
sub-stratospheric heavens. This painterly alchemy and impressionistic rendition
captures an ideal moment in time.
Working from photographs of his studied subjects (Texas and New Mexico),
Cavin spends time in the field to bring into the studio all that he can capture
of Mother Nature - where he reviews picture after picture, laying paint onto
the canvas with impressionistic clarity. Cliff Cavin’s artwork can be seen at
J.R Mooney Galleries of Fine Art, 305 S. Main St., Boerne, Texas 78006.
Becky Rogers
Becky Rogers’s side-profiled
livestock paintings capture a serene fairy tale and nursery rhyme quality to
cows, longhorns and other cherished animal companions of the ranchlands. The
gentle gestalt of her work brings an approachable nature to the sometimes
tempered beasts that litter the Texas countryside. Fuzzy coats of fur, wet
noses, and adorable loving eyes pull us into their world—huggable and cuddly
treasure troves that demand our affection. Becky Roger’s landscapes and animal portraits
are available at Highland House Gallery, 114 E. Highland Dr., Boerne, Texas
78006.
Linda Chalberg’s artwork appears reminiscent of Fauvism - her color palette
with large swatches of pastel hues morph into impressionistic watercolor landscapes;
dictated by remembered feelings and emotions; inspired by the undulations of
the land. According to Linda, her work
strives to present the viewer the “distinct contrasts of live oaks and cedars
against limestone, granite and native grasses and the strength of towering
cypress and the much cherished water.” Linda
Chalberg’s landscapes and sketches are on display at The Carriage House
Gallery, 110 Rosewood Ave., Boerne, Texas 78006.
Donna McKelvey and Danny Phillips
Que Rica
artists, Donna McKelvey and Danny Phillips deliver a power punch of religious
iconography; Mexican inspired retablos, religious alters and catholic imaged
jewelry made from recycled materials pay tribute to the Catholicism and
Christianity from a unique perspective concurrent with Texas folklore and
Mexican pride; juxtaposed with personal nostalgia. Both artists’ work is available for sale at
COSAS Mexican Folk Art, 1109 S. Main St., Boerne, Texas 78006.
Eunice Hundley’s
cultural portraits range from various indigenous populations of Latin and
Central America to Folklorico dancers of San Antonio to the spiritual essences
of Native Americans. Eunice
Hundley is represented by Texas Fine Art Treasures, 605 S. Main St., Boerne,
Texas 78006
In Cliff Cavin’s “Deep Purple”, a
jaundiced skyline struggles to hold onto the dying dog days of summer. The billowing heliotrope and wine colored haze veil the sun’s rays
as a layer of yellow ochre streaks across the heavens, adding to the multitude
of strata. A foreground of Texas
desert-scape guides our eye to the horizon arriving at the vast firmament of
the sky and mountains that anchor the perfect composition. In “Tilden Bull”, Cavin uses his technique for capturing light and prominently
displays the muscular structure of the longhorns and its signature
head ornamentations. Spare cactus litter the semi-arid landscape as
his animal is interrupted from his grazing grounds, holding court in the Texas
Hill Country.
Becky Rogers
“Bashful” by Becky Rogers
portrays a calf lost in thought. With a downward left leaning glance, the young
steer averts a direct stare, showing emotional disconnection -- a kind of
reserved and timid obedience. With off
white highlights and a coat that lacks deep contrasting shadows, Rogers paints
the cow’s hide with a seemingly monotone palette showing the immature nature of
the beast while alluding to the soft tactile nature of fur. “Up Close and
Personal” is opposite, here Rogers makes the viewer on edge. A bull’s twisted horns and apprehensive eye
evokes intimidation. She delivers a censored profile that illustrates all we
need to see of the dominance this animal maintains, and the majestic beauty the
artist finds inspiration in.
Linda Chalberg
“A Good Place to Wade” by Linda
Chalberg is a watercolor painting that demonstrates her signature style with
soft colors filling a plethora of organic shapes; making for a scenic symphony
of solitude. With no human interventions, technology, or mishandlings, Chalberg
illustrates an unpolluted environment perfect for meditative reflections. A green undertone flows through the
composition, delivering a calm sensibility while we begin to appreciate the space
between the trees, the air in our lungs and the cool waters that flow between
our toes.
“Woodland Trail, Old Town
Helotes” is a quasi-abstract landscape; a vertical composition that invites us
into the woods with a tempting sunlit trail.
Layer upon layer of abstract swatches of green: avocado, jade, emerald,
and lime compose a thrust of vegetation lush from a rare summer deluge. This
sampling of works from Chalberg show her dynamic diversity in capturing the
Texas landscape; plein aire with flair for an overall composition that could
pacify even the most hard-core abstract expressionist.
Donna McKelvey and Danny Phillips
The lonely soul cigar box shrine
by Donna McKelvey and Danny
Phillips portrays a dainty praying devotee burning in the eternal infernos. Flames
lick at the woman gesturing to the heavens while Mexican folk art inspired
designs dance around her. The duo’s
compartmental constructs walk the line of Fine Art (a reference to Joseph
Cornell’s box wall hangings) and Outsider Art. “Emergency retablo”, a Virgin de
Guadalupe devotional painting delivers a folkloric disaster preparation plan-- break
the glass and pray! Gold paint,
repetitive motifs and floral/sun designs add a color palette that compliments
the adornments of the heavenly mother.
In Eunice Hundley’s “Shawl
Dancer”, elegance, innocence, ancestral appreciation, and a metaphysical wisdom
manifest within the adolescent girl; clothed in a festive wrap, ready to dance.
With a simple background of soft brownish earth tones, Hundley focuses our
attention on the figure, letting us enjoy the unfinished quality of the
portrait. The rustic qualities of “Before the Drums Begin” are exemplified on
the tinted handmade paper; contrasting the bright blue clothing of the women
preparing for a ceremonial dance. Just enough of the figure is rendered for the
viewer to appreciate the artistic expertise of Eunice Hundley. “The sprawling oak
trees of our Texas hill country always stop me in my tracks… It's the flow and
rhythm in movement of line and form and color harmony, an indefinable
‘character’ that catches me”, says Hundley.
Although these artists are only a
half dozen of the thousands of artists living within the Hill Country, they
give voice to the eclectic diversity of artwork being made in the
neighborhoods, communities, and cities around us. Take time to visit the galleries
in your area, talk with the artists in the neighborhood (think Mr. Rogers) and
explore the art communities of the Hill Country. You never know what you might find!
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