Southwestern College has messed with Texas. It was a good move.

Artists Vincent Falsetta and Matthew Bourbon’s exhibition, “Big and Bright: New Work from Texas” was a Lone Star revelation.

A Texas-sized showcase of 35 artists had visitors forgetting the Alamo and remembering the creativity and flavor of one of America’s most diverse states.

First to present was Falsetta. He studied fine arts at Temple University in Philadelphia and earned his Master’s in Fine Arts at the Tyler School of Art in Rome.

Falsetta, a studio art professor at the University of North Texas, showed the audience pictures of his studio and explained his painting process.

“I experiment with colors and textures,” he said. “I mix the base color and then I go to the brush.”

Falsetta said he works with a “monochromatic palette,” different tones of the same color. Since 1997 he has been sketching potential paintings on index cards to document and record his work. They contain the title of the painting, possible ideas and the painting on scale. They also contain sequences of colors he will use.

“Everything for me is about process,” he said.

Bourbon studied art studio and art history at UC Davis and earned a Master’s in Fine Arts. He has written for several publications, including Art News and New York arts magazines.

His paintings are illustrative but have some abstract aspects.

“I don’t feel comfortable making only abstract work,” he said. “I take any kind of sources such as newspaper clippings, old films, advertisements and magazines. I’m actually combining two sources.”

Most of Bourbon paintings use a touch of cubism, a geometric style of painting created by Picasso. All his paintings are fictional, he said, and he likes a sense of animation.

Bourbon said his paintings did not have a specific meaning. He wants people to make their own interpretation of his work.
“Also, the title is very important,” he said. “It gives people something extra, like an introduction to the painting.”

Artists often have to look for a “day job” and be persistent if they have a passion to create.

“Art is a learning experience that if you can enjoy the process, and believe in yourself, you should show it in the art work,” he said. “You will be happier if people know what you really are as an artist.”

Even though it is sometimes hard to find a job as an artist, it is a satisfying career, Falsetta said. If you feel proud of your work you will succeed.

Angelica Corona, 21, graphic design major, said she enjoyed the exhibit.

“It was interesting to see a large diversity of pieces from the different Texas artists,” she said. “I like the fact that you couldn’t tell the artist was from Texas, meaning that, you expected to see drawings of a desert or cactus and it was something complete different. Both artists love what they do. Their passion can be reflected in their pieces. I like that they shared their experience and what are their work’s process.”