Your Artists in San Antonio

Born in San Antonio, Dunn-Harr found her artistic expression slowly, yet deliberately, and continues to explore the many possibilities in the arts. She derived much of her early experience from traditional school and continues to embrace formalism. Her works are organic forms rooted in architectural elements. The forms are sensuous and portray the force and fragility of nature. Dunn-Harr considers herself a contemporary realist; she travels and exhibits internationally.

The “Visage” works in this gallery are also painted by Vie and considered studies, working under her mother’s family name as a tribute to a mother who supported her artistic path and believed in the importance of art not becoming insipid. One must always explore...

A native of SA and a self-taught artist, David Duran developed a unique use of color and techniques that set his work apart. The diversity in technique can be seen in the disciplined style of “Frieda Mi Vida” and the more Impressionist style of “Siempre Juntos”. These artworks reflect the multifariousness of culture, architecture, and style as well as the renaissance of San Antonio and its community. Duran’s use of bright colors, contrasts, and regional themes are often cited as the reasons for his popularity.  

Amy Hillenbrand began her career in the creative world as an Interior Designer. While living in the Midwest, she owned her own successful commercial interior design and architectural firm for 15 years. As her life unfolded, she was called to her next creative endeavor - oil painting. She uses her experience with color and creativity and pours it into this new passion. Amy is known for her restful, heartwarming style as a contemporary realist. Harmonious color palettes, appealing composition, and positive energy are all fused together to create joy-filled yet peaceful works of art. Amy’s work is in many private collections throughout the US and Canada. Her work has been displayed in public spaces, galleries, and art festivals. 

Tamara Van Horn has been working as an artist since 2012 and is completely self-taught. Her inspiration comes from the Texas rivers, amazing sunsets, and local wildlife. Over the last few years, she has won significant local awards such as the Julian Onderdonk award and Best in Show at the New Braunfels Art League as well as the River Art Group. She started with oil paints but has been branching out with watercolors and pastels.    

Nain Leon is a multidisciplinary artist who was born in Mexico City and is currently based in San Antonio, Texas. His work shows different places where some characters cohabitate. These characters can be objects, animals, humans, nature, or even the artist himself. The elements that have a role in the image sometimes are removed from their context to make them part of a different reality. This way, all of the pieces are together within the set... they contrast, complement, and unite with each other to compose new worlds. He has had exhibitions in Mexico, Canada, and the USA.

Award-winning San Antonio artist, Cindy Morawski, paints the subjects of landscapes, florals, birds, and other wildlife with pastels. A charter member and past President and Board of Directors Member of the Texas Pastel Society, she has created art since childhood. Cindy also enjoys painting en plein air landscapes with the Texas Pastel Society. Teaching and painting are two of her favorite things. An outdoor enthusiast, she tries to capture the light and colors of her subjects in nature within her compositions. Her artist statement helps provide some personal insights: "I take artistic and spiritual inspiration from the natural world and then try to place it in a window for my viewer to appreciate."

Cat Flores is a 31-year-old artist and San Antonio native. She primarily paints with acrylic on canvas, but she also likes to use mixed media on her paintings such as mirrors, beads, and lace. Her inspirations come from nature, fashion, geometry, emotions, and science. Flores loves flowers and bright colors with an added bit of darkness; she has always loved to paint and appreciates this opportunity to be in a collective of San Antonio artists.  

Boris Levitsky was born 1958 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. His grandfather and father were well-known Russian artists. He started to paint in early childhood inspired by his father's work. Boris graduated from the famous M.B. Grekov Art School in Rostov-on-Don in 1977. During his university years, he studied in Leningrad and the Moscow Art Academy. In 1987, Boris immigrated to the US and has been working in many different art directions. His first exhibition in the US was a 2006 International Fine Art Exhibit "ECO - FUSION" at McAlpin Gallery in Manhattan. He has also participated in several exhibitions collaborating with New York Realism Fine Art. Boris participated in the International art exhibition "NEW YORK-TOKYO" from September 24-29, 2015, taking place in Tokyo, Japan.

A San Antonio native, Jake Herrera joined the Air Force as soon as he was out of high school. Upon leaving, he studied to become a programmer, only to realize that he wasn't meant to sit in a cubicle and code all day. Herrera now attends classes at UTSA to learn more about art and better himself as an artist. He likes to work in oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, and digital. Art is hispassion and it makes him happy to create.   

Rachel Brown is an artist and entrepreneur from San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from Texas Christian University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a minor in Studio Art. Rachel founded and is now the CEO and Head Artist of an online art and retail business called Mindset Makers. In addition to that, she is the Head of Collections Management at a Private Art Collection here in San Antonio. As an artist, Rachel has always been inspired by the outdoors. Her relationship with the Southwest is visible within her paintings. Through her use of texture and vibrant colors, she takes captive her unique view of the land and wildlife. Infused with movement, spontaneous brushwork, and exciting color, her art is defining of her individual style. 

Born in Cuba in 1979, Yosanle emigrated to the US, and eventually, settled in San Antonio in 2014. In 1995, he began studying Painting and Sculpture at professional fine arts school, Oscar Fernandez Moreira, in Trinidad, Cuba where I also took elective courses in ceramics and jewelry. My work reflects my experiences from Cuba to the US including culture, architecture, and landscapes as well as both imaginary and real characters that we encounter in daily life, feelings, and miscegenation of all the different cultures. This is what I represent in my oil and acrylic paintings.     

Sam Wilson is a self-taught oil painter based in San Antonio whose main focus is realism. Born in 1986 and originally from Wichita, KS, Wilson was interested in art from a young age. He attended Butler Community College with a small scholarship for art. While there, he took a few design classes as well as sculpture. From there, he attended the University of Kansas with a focus in Marketing Communications. After a year at KU, he took a break from university at the age of 23; during that time, he painted his first oil painting under the guidance of his father, Kent Wilson. From that point forward, he never looked back. Sam has shown his work in several venues in Wichita and San Antonio as well as a number of competitions all over the US. Among other recognitions, his piece, “American Busker,” was selected as a finalist in the Hunting Art Prize in Houston in 2015. In 2016, he was the first place winner of the Jerry’s Artarama Portrait Contest. 

For Vasquez Rubio Art Studio, art "is my dream come true; it is the space without form and time with no hurry where I have become an artist, making different projects in different media and forms, which I didn't intend to do before. It is an evolving project that I cannot stop. It is the materialization of my longing, of my studies, of my ambition and of my practices - all that once was only an idea, and today, is a reality. It's sharing part of me."

Al Slavin is a Texas artist from San Antonio. He graduated from Clark High School, and subsequently, attended Texas A&M University where he earned a BS in Landscape Architecture. He is a predominantly self-taught painter, working mainly in oils. Slavin's intent is to communicate emotions, feelings, and wonderments to the people who view his paintings. Design, composition, texture, color, and light help convey things. Most of Slavin's paintings are pulled from his imagination, and it is his intention to make them look real. "Painting to me is like magic, mystifying and fun, and it's wonderful when my work connects with people. Nature moves me: trees, skies, clouds, and colors, but especially, the light! The light is what inspires me."

 Mexican born artist, Angeles Salinas graduated Summa Cum Laude in Fine Arts at UTSA in 2020. She has been awarded several times for educational excellence; those awards include the 35th Annual Juried Student Exhibition where she earned the Best in Show award and the 36th Annual Juried Student Exhibition where she earned the Undergraduate 1st place award. Angeles’s long term goal is to create work that bridges the respective art communities of Texas and Mexico. She considers that there are still not enough women artists in the art world, and she would like to contribute to their number with her work.  

Alicina Xindinghani Vilankulu was born and raised in New York City.  As a self-taught artist, she has been drawing and painting since she was a child. Her use of bright acrylics and abstract images was deeply influenced by the Pop Art scene of the 1970s and 1980s in NYC.  Another major influence on her art is her African heritage: "I was lucky enough to take two trips to Africa in my youth, and that experience changed my life, my perspective of the world, and my art."

Debra Zender is a Wisconsin native who discovered her passion through art instruction at Milwaukee Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and her Master of Arts degree from Cardinal Stritch College. Zender has been drawn to the development of 3D art that needs to be seen with more than just the eyes. She takes everyday objects and creates colorful, tactile pieces of art. She is feeling her way through the art world without following conventional rules, focusing on color and texture. 

Born, raised, and living in San Antonio, Veronica is a self-taught contemporary artist who has been painting and selling her work since 2007. She loves her hometown’s colorful expressions and tries to evoke that bold, joyful vibe in every piece she makes. Much like her personality, her body of work is an eclectic mesh of styles. Whether it be contemporary folk art, fluid expressionism, mixed media, or anything in between, she experiences the most pleasure in the creation process itself. In a world of limitless possibilities, she aims to have fun in discovering the endless options for creating something beautiful.

Patti Schulze is the founder of Digital Training & Designs, an Adobe and Apple Authorized training center located in the Dallas area. Now retired and living in San Antonio, she is concentrating on her artwork. "My paintings are not photographs of a painting, as no painting exists. These are photographs of artwork created by mixing different liquids, paints, inks, or whatever I dream up and experiment with to create the abstract. The dish is cleaned, and the ink or paint is washed down the drain... gone forever. All that remains is the photograph."

Maya Sokovic is an artist currently living and working in San Antonio. She grew up in Belgrade, Serbia and defines her art as a form of visual storytelling. "My paintings come from memories, dreams, feelings, and personal history; they are reactions to moments I’ve collected. I seek to capture the moments and simplicity of life through time, whether by colors, lines, layers, or space...". Maya received a BFA of Fine Arts. Her art has been exhibited internationally, published in books, and is in private collections in both Europe and the US. 

Lolli Hollsten is a mother, nurse, avid pet-lover, and self-taught artist. Her passion for creativity began as a young girl growing up in Hawaii and continued to develop throughout her time serving as an Army nurse and raising her family. Originally working primarily in oils, Lolli has expanded her artistic abilities to include acrylics and other mediums. She can be found most days in her studio surrounded by her dogs as she continues to create. 

For as long as she can remember, Yolanda Clifton has enjoyed being creative. She was born in San Antonio and has lived here as well as in Germany and Ethiopia. While in Germany, Clifton became certified as an interior designer and enjoyed helping friends with her creativity.  In Europe, she visited art galleries, and it was there that she developed a love and admiration for Old Masters paintings. "Many times, after a full day of work and on weekends, I would spend my time being creative with my oils and canvases. Now I’m retired and have dedicated my time to painting, workshops, and classes. It gives me great joy to bring the beauty that God has surrounded us with to others to the best of my ability."