Guerrero Viejo arches the subject of art show

McALLEN - The arches of Guerrero Viejo, just a few miles away from where Raquel Hinojosa grew up in Miguel Aleman, have left a lasting impression on the artist.

So powerful have been their influence on her, that tonight she'll unveil a series of paintings titled, "Journeys of Growth", at her Hinovations Art Studio at 1509 Quince Ave. The show will take place from 6 to 9 p.m.

Guerrero Viejo is a colonial-style town on the south bank of the Rio Grande that was flooded by Falcon Lake when the dam was built in the 1950s. In the last few years, drought has caused the lake to recede revealing a landscape that has attracted the attention of photographers and artists.

"I do them in different mediums, pencil, charcoal, oil pastel, watercolor, Prismacolor pencil," said Hinojosa, pulling out paintings of arches in dazzlingly different styles. One oil pastel depicts the deep blue opening surrounded by bands of light blue and red ochre. Another in the same medium creates a carnival-like effect with bands of geranium red and orange yellow, enclosed on both sides by translucent columns.

Another painting, this one in pastels, creates a more crisp effect, with cerulean blue bars and shadowy surrounds and a thin band of lime green. These works have strong strokes creating a sense of texture and vitality.

"When I do use those strokes, I want it to have a dramatic effect," Hinojosa said. "I want it to be more dynamic than subdued. For example, one was pink, you hardly saw the strokes, I wanted it to show a more relaxed feeling. When you have more agitated strokes, my intention is to cause more agitation and more dynamics in the more, more motion."

Hinojosa did at least one of her works in a process called a la poupee. This is a process in which a painting is created on a metal plate and then transferred onto paper through a printing process. After the plate is cleaned, you apply the printing ink in a solid color onto the plate, which is pressed onto the paper.

There's a trick to getting it just right, however.

"It has to match exactly, or it's going to be out of focus," she said.

Her work "The Archway" is done in this technique; a warm glow spills through the arches and bounces off the floor etched with dark lines. Splashes of light and clear blue fall across the far walls, and the hints of Indian red crawl across the ceiling.

"This was a school," she said. "It was very dingy and dry and nostalgic. It was muddy, having been underwater. When you walk into the classrooms, it was dampy."

Hinovations Art Studio is located directly behind Santa Anita Gallery, which is at 1500 Pecan Blvd. Visitors are asked to use Santa Anita's parking lot or park across Pecan Boulevard at the old McAllen Police Station, then walk through the gallery's courtyard to the studio.