Tales of the Riverbank

The San Antonio River originates from springs in midtown San Antonio, Texas, and feeds into the Guadalupe River, about 10 miles from the San Antonio Bay, in the Gulf of Mexico.  Although used by Native Americans for centuries, the river was officially documented by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca during his expolrations in 1535.  There are 5 major missions that were lined along its course during the Spanish reign, so it has witnessed major Texas historical events such as the Battle of the Alamo, in 1836.  Today, the Bishop Jones Center is located in the Northeast riverbank area in the city of San Antonio.  That's where the Cathedral House Gallery is located, which was the main inspiration for this post.

Bishop Jones Center's Cathedral Park Walkway
© Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

My first art piece is a postcard tag that I illustrated and designed for Tag Tuesday - Tales of the Riverbank.  I used a Strathmore watercolor blank postcard base, and painted some waves using a Winsor & Newton navy blue watercolor.  When it was dry, I used a pencil to sketch the man's bust, the lettering, and the organic forms.  Then, I inked everything with Sharpie fine and medium pens.  Next, I rounded the corners to form a tag shape and punched a teardrop hole between them.  As an embellishment, I created a tassel using blue raffia strands, which I knotted with a scrap of off white twine.  I added 3 black and blue polymer clay beads that I handmade a while back to three of the raffia strands.  This was a fun postcard tag to make!  Since it fits the themes, I am also submitting this piece to Sunday Post Card - Nature and to the Play Date Cafe Challenge #137, because I focused on black, white and blue.

Flower Bed at the Bishop Jones Center
© Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

My second Art piece is actually an art journal page composition that I've titled "The Secret Garden."  I began by painting part of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly scene in the photograph above for my Twenty Minute Challenge entry on a Ranger canvas artist trading card.  This was harder than my Camping entry last week, since I had to switch between a pencil, various Sharpie fabric markers, and Tulip brown dye.  To be honest, I added the black lines in the background after the 20 minutes were over, which took me about 3 more minutes.  (Did you notice I used pink instead of lavender for my lantana flowers?  I have pink ones in my garden, so I guess I grabbed the wrong color unconsciously in my rush to finish.  LOL!)  Anyway, I used a K&Company Smash pad sheet to write the quote from Cecil F. Alexander's hymn, ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL.  Then, I stamped a Stampabilities key on a couple of Art-C yellow paper scraps.  I also combined an Art-C orange flower portion with a flower I punched using the hydrangea Martha Stewart punch.  I put them together with a Tim Holtz mini attacher.  I distressed all the pieces, arranged them on my page, and glued them down.  I am also submitting this piece to Simon Says - Depth of Distress, Simon Says - Anything But a Card, Take a Word Challenge - Insects, and Collage Obsession - Yellow.

Grow
11x14" Mixed Media
© Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

Rejoice
11x14" Collage
© Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

In the Garden
24x36" Acrylic
© Arnoldo L. Romero 2012

Last, but not least, are the 3 art pieces that I currently have on exhibit at the Cathedral House Gallery's "In the Garden" art show.  The first two, "Grow" and "Rejoice," I completed a couple of years ago.  "In the Garden" is the piece I completed last Saturday, which was truly inspired by Charles Austin Miles' hymn.  As I was painting it, I could hear the chorus, "And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."  I used 3 Celtic Spirals, as well as a Celtic knot, as symbols of the Holy Trinity.  The seven stars stand for the importance of this number in the Bible, which appears from the Seven Days of Creation to the Seven Seals of Revelation.  Of course, my main character is Jesus Christ, who is giving its viewers a blessing from His garden.  It took me quite a while to prepare for and complete this painting, but I feel it was worth it.  The gallery, which is open to the public, is located at 111 Torcido Drive, San Antonio, TX 78209, and is open Monday through Friday, from 9 AM to 5 PM, Central Time.  I am submitting this painting to Paint Party Friday - Week #15, Word Art Wednesday Challenge, and Artist's Play Room #15.

I hope you enjoyed my "Tales of the Riverbank" in San Antonio, as much as I did going through them in my creative endeavors.  Thank you for your visit, and know that you are cordially invited to leave a comment and add your name to my list of followers.  Blessings!