Art

The ancient history of the Alcase region currently in France is full of power struggles, wars and boundary changes. The rich and productive land next to the Rhine river contains the iconic Alsatian towns of Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse, and the tiny village of Wahlbach. The carpenters and masons building the Steinbach house in Wahlbach France would be proud to know how much care, respect and reverance has been given to their structure in the last 400 years.

1618-1648 Steinbach House Built in Wahlbach, France
1776 United States Independence from the United Kingdom
1836 Battle of the Alamo
1843-1847 Castro brings Immigrants from Alcase to Texas
1844 Castro founds the city of Castroville
1845 Texas Statehood as part of the United States of America
1845 Castro founds Quihi
1852 The Huegele Homestead
1852 Fall: Construction begins on St. Mary’s School in San Antonio
1853 Construction begins on St. Dominic Church in D’Hanis
1855 The Rohrbach Homestead
1861 American Civil War
1890 Quihi Gun Club Formed
1914 WWI
1939 WWII
1948 Sammy’s Restaurant Opened in Castroville
1998 Steinbach House was moved to Castroville Texas
2021 Restoration efforts begin on Rohrbach House

Watercolor painting was described to me as a series of painting steps in layers while having great respect for the color white. Maybe a beginner starts with these steps and along with their content and guidance from a teacher they start the path of experience. It takes time. The paths on the road to artistry diverge and meander until the trail suits the artist. The washes and brush strokes create the content and contain the DNA of the artist.

Jeff Prestridge left a trove of his watercolor paintings for us to enjoy. He did not exhibit many of the over 1,000 paintings he created in retirement. They were all practice on the way to being a better painter. The farmboy in him led his eye to landscapes, vegetable gardens, and luckily for us Alsatian homes.