San Antonio~~Past & Present in Recent ArtWork

 The Golden Age of Mission San Jose

 

 





Night on East Houston


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Celebrating my City with Two Paintings

by Cindy Morawski

 

When I first came to Texas, I noticed a sign in a downtown gift shop that said, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I came here as fast as I could."  I arrived in San Antonio in 1984.  I'm not a native, but I have a real love for this place.  You could say that it's an attachment that just won't go away. 

 

Giving the grand tour of San Antonio to my visiting relatives from other states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, I always stop at the Alamo and the Missions.  Mission San Jose is my favorite.  Over the past few years, Paul and I have started at that mission and then bicycled along the trails to the other missions.  Biking along the San Antonio River is peaceful and lovely.  When I think of San Antonio's past, I can't help but wonder what life was like at the missions when they first were built.  I've read the history, but I would love to take a Time Tunnel Trip back and check it out myself. 

 

This past year, Paul and I have been fortunate to have made friends with a wonderful guy named Kevin Cartwright.  We first met him this past year at the SAVA Gallery Art Reception in downtown San Antonio.  He bought a couple of my landscape paintings that were at the gallery.  Paul and I liked him on the spot.  He was friendly, bright, and had a good sense of humor.  We all shared a love of traveling and art.  Later in the spring, Kevin invited us to his home above the Majestic Theater for an art reception to celebrate the artwork that he had collected from me and some other local artists.  I met his friends and liked them too.  Kevin also had us over for a 4th of July party.  I couldn't forget Kevin's birthday; he was born on the 4th! I also couldn't get over the incredible view from his apartment.  His huge living room windows allowed you to see everything on the street below and in the city's distance.  When the fireworks went off from the Tower at Hemisphere Park, it was an unforgettable show.  I kept revisiting the night sights of  East Houston Street in my mind.  The bright colors and energy made me feel like a part of my brain just woke up from a long winter's nap. 

 

I am a constant creature of the suburbs.  I love Braun Station West where I live in the Northwest area of the city, but I am fascinated with the urban landscape every time I go downtown to see friends, work at one of my art galleries, or dine out at a San Antonio restaurant.  Downtown seems to have its own pulse and rhythm.  When I meet the tourists who visit the galleries where I work, I am able to look at my city through fresh eyes.  They ask me what sights to see, where to eat, and what events are going on at the time.  I enjoy talking to them.  Sometimes, I feel like an ambassador from SA.  I try to share goodwill with my new acquaintances.  I guess, I hope that they'll love San Antonio, too. 

 

Recently, I have tried to celebrate San Antonio's Past and Present through a couple of paintings.  I want to do a whole series in the months ahead.  The first one features my favorite mission, San Jose.  I wanted to honor it by painting it with warm and regal tones of gold and red.  A Golden Age.  The second painting takes a closer look at the present.  Neon lights, tall and modern buildings, traffic, and noise.  I hope I captured some of that with my night scene of East Houston Street. 

 

One of my past art teachers once told me to paint what I love.  I have painted lots of subjects such as my beloved pets, landscapes of my favorite parks where I hike and bike, and places that I travel to on vacation.  Now, I've taken a good hard look at my city.  Thanks, San Antonio!  Your beauty and spirit will continue to inspire me.   

 

 

 

 

www.CindyMorawski.com

 

Morawski Fine Art & Framing

8603 Waldon Hts.

San Antonio, TX  78254

 

 

210.522.0706

 





Celebrating Earth Day with a New Landscape Painting

Group Photo with my Canadian Cousins at Lake Louise (I'm on the right, a younger version of me.)

Pinetop at Lake Louise

Landscape Painting of Western Canada by Cindy Morawski

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Happy Earth Day! Looking out my studio and office's second story open window this afternoon, I can see and feel the cool mist of April's falling rain and almost imagine being in Western Canada again. Paul and I traveled there about 10 years ago to hike, sightsee, and most importantly to visit with my Canadian cousins, the Bakers, in Alberta. We stayed in an old lodge near Lake Louise and Banff National Park and hiked twice with my Cousin Dawn and her three children. The first thing I noticed while hiking was that the steep elevation was doing a number on me. I'm not a mountain goat, but I thought I was in pretty good hiking shape when I was there; yet, I found myself huffing and puffing like the big, bad wolf in The Three Little Pigs as I climbed higher and higher on the trail. Gasping for air when I reached the thin, cool air of the summit, I looked out between the pine trees. I gasped again. This time it wasn't because of oxygen deprivation; I was shaken by the startling beauty of the scene before me. Lake Louise winked up at me with her lit reflections of tantalizing turquoise. The rugged mountain range in the background still sparkled with the past winter's freshness of snowcaps on those immovable giants. I peered out again, this time startling a crow from a thick branch overhead. Hotel Lake Louise seemed like a tiny replica from a toy train display of an alpine village. Even though I have had the good fortune to travel in the past to the German Alps, this New World scene gave me a heady certainty that I was a witness to something close to pristine and magical. Many goosebumps later, I finally recovered enough to fumble around for my camera in my forest green backpack and snap several photos. Gently laughing, my Cousin Dawn teased me that I'd been living in a big city for way too long! I guess, my visceral reaction to this majestic vista was rather apparent to my hardy cousins who had hiked and skied this area all year round. I stood rooted like the tall pine trees beside me. I needed to drink it all in. Like a thirsty runner after a marathon, I could not get enough. Suddenly, I could just picture me in a Master Card commercial. Buying all the necessary hiking and camping equipment, lounging by the massive fireplace in our lodge, and then conquering the mountain trail's summit. Priceless! Camera pans with a 180 degrees swivel to show that outdoor wonderland. And, of course, me standing there grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. Cut! It's a wrap . . .

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Last month I was clicking through my computer's picture files for composition ideas and inspiration, but I kept going back to the Banff and Lake Louise files. I had been wanting to paint something from that trip for awhile. Then, it happened. I sat riveted on my office max chair. The Lake Louise photo from above the pinetops on the vista trail held me like a junkyard magnet. Squirming, I broke loose. Memories came at me like a spinning roladex. The hike to the top looking out at Lake Louise was the one I was going to paint.

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This landscape painting entitled Pinetop at Lake Louise measures 18 by 23 double matted and framed. I used quality Colourfix rich beige Art Spectrum paper and mostly Terry Ludwig soft pastels. It will be available for sale through an upcoming exhibit of the Texas Pastel Society's All Member Show at San Antonio's downtown Carver Theatre, May 4 through the 30th. You're invited to our reception too. The art reception will take place on Thursday, May 6th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Carver. If you have any questions, please email me at cski02@sbcglobal.net. I'll also be showing two other landscape paintings as well, Stopping by Reichert's Woods and Homestead and Heritage.

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Hope you have a green Earth Day! Don't forget to recycle, compost, and carpool when you can. It's the only planet we have for now!

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Love you, Mother Earth!!!

~~Cindy