How The San Angelo Series began

I never knew what it felt like to be part of a community until I moved to San Angelo. Growing up in the armed forces and later serving in active duty made it difficult to know the places and people where we were stationed.

When I relocated to San Angelo in 2011 I began painting landmarks of the city as a way to get to know it better. But then I began hearing stories about the places I was painting. An attorney from Austin told me about how we grew up roaming the halls of the Cactus Hotel because his mother worked in the building in the 50s. I heard amazing stories about watching films inside the Texas Theater when it was still open. I got my first break as a young artist at Sealy Flats from Rod Bridgman. 

I soon realized that there were even more stories that needed to be discovered. But many of the stories I was hearing were about places and people that no longer existed. I became obsessed with preserving those stories in the only way I knew how, by painting them.

My mission is to uncover these local stories, and paint the places and people that made this city what it is today, so they will never be forgotten.

I know not everyone can afford an original painting, so my challenge is to create different artworks to make it possible for everyone to own a piece of their own history should they choose.

- Alejandro