Tag: history

KERBEY LANE CENTRAL: An Austin Art Experience

KERBEY LANE CENTRAL | 9 x 12” | Oil on canvas board

KERBEY LANE CENTRAL is a nod to the iconic venue that hosted my most recent solo show. I had the privilege to hang 30+ pieces at Kerbey Lane on Kerbey Lane, which has been a destination for diner lovers across the country for decades. In fact, when I first moved to Austin more than 30 years ago, I lived on Kerbey Lane just 3 blocks down from the restaurant. Many a hangover was remedied by their coffee, pancakes and queso. 

Back in the day, the Kerbey Lane sign was a 3D coffee cup – today it’s still a cofffee cup but just flat and a little less intriguing. I’m not sure what happened to the original sign, but I found an old photo as a reference to recreate it as the focal point in this piece. 

I used a palette knife to do the sign, adding texture and more detail, whereas the rest of the painting is brushwork. For those of you who haven’t had the fortune to visit this location, it’s inside an old house, actually two houses that are connected. The other businesses along this street are also converted homes, so that’s why the backdrop looks like a neighborhood… cuz it is. 

For the compositional geeks out there, I used the angles of the metal sign post, the walkway, and the roof lines to direct the viewer to the focal point. While the slightly aerial viewing angle is clearly not something you’d get standing in front of the restaurant, it was infinitely more interesting than anything I managed to come up with at street level. 

Thanks again Kerbey Lane for hosting me and my wide ranging artistic subjects! I look forward to another show in the near future. 

#austinart #artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #abplanalp #austinartists #atxart #atxartist #atxlife #paintings  #kerbeylanecafe #coffee #eateraustin #austinbrunch #pancakes #paintingsandpancakes #austinliving #austinevents #iconic #austin #texmex

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What a Patio!

KERBEY LANE CAFE, SAN MARCOS | 9 x 12” | Oil on Canvas Board

As a nod of thanks and appreciation, I recently completed a landscape of the Kerbey Lane Cafe in San Marcos, where I recently wrapped up a solo show, “Something for Everyone”. The restaurant is located in a historical building on the San Marcos River. The view of the river from the patio is amazing, but the sight of the restaurant from the river itself is arguably the better perspective. 

Now the first time you look at this painting, you might actually need the reference photo to know what you’re looking at. It’s not every day that one comes across a restaurant with “river AND a waterfall” as a seating option AND $7 local brewery pints! 

This painting introduced new challenges and the according hard lessons along the way. Two of particular note dealt with architectural elements:

  • Window Reflections: I’ve done reflective surfaces numerous times, so I understand the foundational techniques. However, the windows on the back of the restaurant had a coating that effectively made them massive mirrors. This meant the sky reflections needed to be more precise, yet despite numerous wipes and re-paints of the windows, I couldn’t get it just right… something just looked artificial about it. On a whim I put the vertical window seams into the composition and “voila!”, suddenly it translated as mirrored windows!
  • Screen Windows: There is a real nuance to getting this right, and something I’d never tackled before. I’ll be honest, luck had more to do with the final result than anything – my artistic creativity isn’t the best of friends with architectural features of the world. If you look closely at the screened-in patio, you’ll notice the most prominent part is in the sunlight, and that area is nothing more than the original underpainting of burnt sienna. The very thick, toothy nature of the canvas board also contributed ideally to the aesthetic without much need for artistic technique. That said, I’ll remember this bit of serendipity the next time I run into a screened porch. 

Ultimately, I’m very happy with the final result. The staff at this location were fantastic supporters of my artwork and an absolute pleasure. I’ll have to do another show at that location in the future. 

#austinart #artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #abplanalp #austinartists #texasstate #txst #oldmain #texasarchitecture #sanmarcos #paintings #kerbeylanecafe

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Texas State Architecture

OLD MAIN – TEXAS STATE | 9 x 12” | Oil on Canvas Board 

I’m a fan of wandering university campuses, both in the US and abroad, in large part because they’re often home to intriguing architecture, beautiful grounds, and chock full of history. Some do it better than others. For example, the University of Texas is by many measures a great school, but let’s be honest, people don’t go there for campus aesthetics. Alternatively, wander onto the stunning grounds of the University of Colorado and you may never leave. 

However, there are also a long list of wonderful colleges and universities – no, I don’t know the difference -hidden between neighborhoods and history, more notable for their pride than their size, and arguably constitute the backbone of “usable” degrees. While I’ve never spent a day as a student at Texas State University, I can say with assurity that the San Marcos campus has enough beautiful open space and intriguing buildings to make for a nice afternoon wander.

In this piece I wanted to capture the university using an iconic building… say hello to OLD MAIN at Texas State. I assume this is one of, if not the site of the original building on campus, which is a beautiful piece of architecture. I used a reference photo from the University website, but it was pretty flat in terms of lighting, yet the perspective of the composition was excellent. I opted to “wing it” with the lighting, incorporating strong sunlight that lit up the facade and cast dark shadows downstream. 

Ideally this piece finds a home with a Texas State alumni, but failing that it would be well suited for a fan of architecture. I’ve been pushing my painting style to be more impressionistic, but I had to tamp that back a little with OLD MAIN so as to include the necessary details of this beautiful building. 

​OLD MAIN will be added to the “Something for Everyone” show at Kerbey Lane Cafe in San Marcos. Drop by for a beer, some pancakes and art! 

Thanks for reading!

#austinart #artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #abplanalp #austinartists ​#​texasstate #txst #oldmain #texasarchitecture #sanmarcos #paintings #kerbeylanecafe

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