YOUR ARTISTS IN SAN ANTONIO (CONT'D)

The two most important things in my life are God and family. Having faith and love captures the beauty of life around us. Family is a special gift from God. It is what who we are, and where we came from. Nature captures the essence of creation of beauty of the landscapes and for every blossom there is hope, peace, and love. I have a Bachelor's degree in Art at the University of Texas, San Antonio. I enjoy creating styles slightly derived from the Flemish and Victorian era of paintings.  In the Flemish style, vibrant localized colors are emphasized. In the Victorian side style, the accent and the harmony of colors as well as the way the subjects are positioned on the canvas are clearly seen on many of my floral and still life paintings. 

Mary Veronica Kampen Laskowski is an Artist living in San Antonio who's been painting since she was 7. Her stunning works of arts are created through a variety of mediums including watercolor, oil, pen and ink, pencils, pastels, mixed media and various other mediums. Currently, her method of using acrylics makes the canvas look like an oil painting. She enjoys creating beautiful fully framed canvases that are expressive of our creation around us.

Her hope is for you to find joy and relaxation in a cheerful colorful piece of art for years to come.

An award winning artist, featured in Western Art Collector, with two one-person Museum shows,

Roger interprets the American West/Southwest from the heart, as our eyes see nature, not as a camera captures it.  The land/sky is merely a foil for painting light, with a meditative feel that makes us “want to be there.”  His signature includes a stylized representation of the blood clot that caused a stroke in 2011.  The Indiana native holds a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from Purdue University.

Carlton Eddy, a resident of Helotes, TX, has been an artist member of the Coast Guard Art Program since 1988 and paints aviation subjects for the military and private buyers. His work is on display at the U.S. Naval Academy, the National Museum of Naval Aviation, the National Museum of the Pacific War, and   military bases and private collections. His work has been featured on Texas Country Reporter. Since retirement from the medical field, his painting subjects have expanded to include portraiture, wildlife, marine, western, and numismatic themes.

My paintings are inspired by the thought that all the world is abstract. I believe that what I understand about the world around me is minimal. Look closer at something considered “common” and a whole verdant trove of fresh discovery is waiting. I think of my paintings as my own person rebellion against the trap of being lethargic and bored in a world as boundlessly beautiful as ours.

Jack was born and raised in Southern California, his ancestors among those noted for settling Santa Monica when orange groves not boardwalks was the stock and trade. Spending 29 years in Las Vegas, Jack put his artistic nature into a successful commercial printing company. Upon selling the company in 1998, Jack and his wife Sharon moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. A five-year endeavor into designing custom wood screened doors reignited his passion for painting. Jack entered, showed and sold his paintings in many venues across New Mexico. With a move to Sharon’s native State of Texas in 2012, his enthusiasm for painting and testing the boundaries of subjects has continued to evolve. He paints everyday simple subjects in a realistic to representational style. He hopes you enjoy what you see.

Margot is a Mexican artist that has been living in San Antonio for nine years. Painting for 27 years, Margot has had her work exhibited in Paris, the United States, and Mexico. She likes to convey memories, emotions, and moments in order for viewers to find or create their own portrayal. Margot's passion for her work comes from the peace she finds while painting. Most of her work includes commissioned portraits of children.

Six years ago, after retiring from a 38 year career as a civil servant of the U.S. Air Force, I decided to start painting!  A fun 2-hour watercolor class while on holiday took me in this totally new direction.  With encouragement of family and friends, I enrolled in a beginner’s watercolor class and having been painting ever since.  Since those first classes, I’ve begun working in acrylics.  Now I enjoy taking classes in acrylic painting to learn more and varied techniques, and I paint on my own at home as well.  I prefer painting mostly landscapes, seascapes, and flowers, but have actually painted a number of pet portraits on commission.  

My synthetic cubist paintings are like a stream of consciousness, which starts with a collage of randomly placed pieces and textures.  The universe is broken down into colors and shapes via the rationale that it is comprised of circles and right angles; I paint while remaining consciously aware of color blocking and shapes. This collage style of synthetic cubism challenges and strengthens my sense of aesthetics.  The cubist paintings depict the mundane in a colorful, vibrant, and transparent way, by expressing movement in the mundane objects as frenetic textural juxtaposition of shape, pattern, and color.  I have developed an interconnection of self and the environment that space and time are interdependent and intermingled.

Ethan Farmer a former Police Officer for SAPD and Army Combat Medic saw many moments of sadness and despair. His work has been inspired by finding beauty in the world and everyday life. Now using his art to focus on the beauty of the world rather than the negatives it has to offer. Using torches carving tools and acrylics he creates unique pieces of art. Ethan is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant studies and uses his art as a way to escape the daily grind of his medical program. Ethan a self-taught artist owns West Texas Wood Art and has been making art for three years.  

I’m a Texas artist and a versatile painter.  I paint landscapes, florals, figurative, wildlife and architectural scenes in both oil and acrylic. I have had paintings accepted in juried national shows including NOAPS, AWA and Graham Art Splash on the Square National Show. I have also exhibited in juried regional shows such as Fort Worth’s Art in the Metroplex, Preservation is the Art of the City shows, Texas Artists Coalition member shows, and Texas and Neighbors Regional Art Exhibition. In 2006, I had a solo show at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. My paintings have won several awards including Best of Show at the 2014 National Wildlife and Domestic Animal Show in Irving and at the 2016 Lake Granbury Art Association Open Show.

Financial advisor Greg Drew didn’t produce any artwork from 1993 to 2017. This 24 year period was filled with work and family. Today he produces two paintings per month on average. Greg is mostly self-taught when it comes to the fine art of watercolor. His style of painting is “representational.” On a rare occasion he will produce an abstract piece. Greg also does commissioned work and says, “This pushes me to do subjects I would otherwise not have done, and that’s cool.”  Greg is a member of the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts.

This wild little cowgirl grew up in Archer County, Texas herding sheep and cattle, driving a tractor, and avoiding rattlesnakes with her three siblings. She was influenced by the shape and colors of the open range and wheat fields, sketching what she saw on her Big Chief tablet with a #2 pencil. Sherry graduated from UTSA with a Bachelors in Fine Art Degree with an emphasis in Architectural Design. Her paintings hang in fine homes in San Antonio and across the state. Vintage photographs as well as nostalgia from my youth have inspired this collection. 

I am a Texas “transplant”, moving to San Antonio in 1965 after growing up in New Jersey. For 40+ years my only artistic activities were doodling, sketching and drawing house plans. Most of what I paint is mixed media with an emphasis on acrylics. They can be textured in many ways that satisfy my desire to create three dimensional paintings. My style has also become more loose and intuitive, leading me into abstract, rather than representational, painting.  Inspiration for my work comes from thoughts, memories and recollections of things experienced and I try to capture an idea or suggestion rather than a specific person, place or thing. My palette is not very subtle and I tend to paint using bold colors and contrasts. 

I was born and raised in New York City.  As a self-taught artist I have been drawing and painting since I was a child.  My use of bright acrylics and abstract images was deeply influenced by the Pop Art scene of the 1970s and 1980s in NYC.  The second strong influence of my art is my 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.

Larry Blancas is an up and coming artist born and raised in San Antonio, TX. Larry has shown an interest in art since he was a child, and has since created several different art styles across a variety of mediums. He began studying at the University of the Incarnate Word to work towards a major in Art. In 2015, he decided to solely focus his creativity through paints and canvas. Larry’s artistic vision is heavily influenced by his Texas culture and Mexican heritage. 

Award-winning San Antonio artist, Cindy Morawski, paints the subjects of landscapes, florals, birds, and 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 plein air landscapes outdoors 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.

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 US and has been working in many different art directions. His first exhibition in US was an International Fine Art Exhibit "ECO - FUSION", McAlpin Gallery, Manhattan, 2006. He has also participated in several exhibitions collaborating with New York Realism Fine Art. Boris participated in the International art exhibition "NEW YORK-TOKYO" during September 24-29, 2015, taking place in Tokyo, Japan.

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. Debra has been drawn to the development of 3-D 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.

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Diana lived and was raised there along with her three sisters and three brothers.  She was inspired and encouraged to pursue her love of art by her father Odell Countryman, who himself was an artist. Diana attended various colleges in Arizona, specializing in fine arts and studying many different techniques and mediums including Still Life, Life Drawing, and Fine Arts in Oil painting.  All of these driving forces shaped her throughout her early college years and even throughout her years of raising a family.  Never once did her passion for art and her inner creative voice ever leave her. 

Aaron Bialaszewski grew up on a small farm in Newark, NY and attended Potsdam University where he studied Art History, Painting, Photography, Drawing, Sculpture and Graphic Arts. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in Studio Art and shortly after graduation, Bialaszewski moved to San Antonio. The look of his art is distinct; he brings an intense focus to each design; subject and composition, with flowing lines of polished steel create movement and mimic the precision that of a painter’s brushes, as well as beautifully controlled, timeless heat-treated, layered dyed surfaces that seem to explode in vibrant color.  Beautifully controlled timeless heat-treated colors. Layered dyed surfaces of iridescent color.

My name is Gerardo Cazares and I am from San Antonio TX. I am one of three children to Mexican parents who immigrated to the US in the early 80's. I was 20 years old when I joined the army as a combat engineer. I deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and I’ve been stationed in Europe. My service has much influence in the content I paint and over the course of a few years of live art, I earned the monicker “Ghost” from other artist friends. I currently work as a diesel mechanic, my hobbies are welding and wood working when I’m not painting. I am motivated by my beautiful girlfriend and baby daughter to keep improving everyday and keep fighting the good fight. 

San Antonio artist Ruth Burink creates graceful, imaginative, and intriguing sculpture. She takes her inspiration from the natural world, resulting in forms which reveal the essence of, rather than the literal interpretation of the images which inspire her. Burink is recognized as a sensitive and accomplished sculptor dedicated to grace and beauty of form, and to meticulous attention to detail. Ruth Burink earned her degree in English Literature from UTSA and continues to educate herself in the arts and in life. Her sculpture is collected internationally, both privately and publicly. Burink resides and works in beautiful downtown San Antonio, the ideal venue for her creativity with access to both art and inspiration.

I am a retired insurance executive who began painting 3 years ago after my husbands passing.  I took classes from Laura Rhodes, Andy Villarreal.  I won a prize as a new artist at the Inspire Gala at the Carver center in 2016.  I was juried into the River Art Group located in LaVillita in 2016. I am a member if the New Braunfels Art League and have been involved with 3 one month shows in New Braunfels.  I have also shown my art in Marble Falls and in Spring Branch at furniture/ Design stores.  My primary medium is acrylic, alcohol inks and encaustics which is normally categorized as mixed media.   I love color and texture and experimenting with new techniques.  

Colin Turner graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and also attended Sergei Bongart's School of Fine Arts. In his earlier career he worked as a commercial artist. Supplying the advertising industry with illustrations, concepts and story boards for high profile accounts such as Coca Cola, Levi's, La gear, Moet Chandon, and Hanna Barbera. But More recently Colin has been concentrating on his passion for oil painting of all genres figurative, portraiture, landscapes, and wildlife.  

Artist and musician native to San Antonio, Texas. My artwork primarily focuses on surrealist placement found images and mixed media creating pieces exploring a range of themes surrounding human consciousness, experience, and spirituality. I am a self-taught artist and musician and employed as custom picture framer and found early inspiration in the works of Ernst, Mucha, Van Gogh, Munch & Basquiat .