Join us for a lecture and discussion with artists and historical educators. Discover how history inspires Texas artists in different ways from paintings to digital videos. In our first lecture of the season, hear from Andrew L Thompson about his landscape artworks that connect memory, history, and community.

Thompson states: "This painting depicts Remembering a Period in the 1950s and Early 1960s in the Mims Community of Brazoria County, Texas. It also illustrates connections to the neighboring communities of Brazoria, Hinkle Ferry, and Sweeney areas. The artwork aims to preserve the cultural heritage that embodies the values, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyle of the people in this region, which has been passed down through generations. The visual representations of structures and individuals are derived from stories shared by ancestors and my own recollections from childhood. Many of these structures no longer exist, leaving only memories. This piece invites viewers to reflect on the past while looking forward to a brighter future."

About the Artist:

Andrew L. Thompson is a visual artist whose fine arts career has evolved over forty years. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and later received a Graphic Communication Certificate from the Art Institute of Houston. He is a retired art educator in the Houston Independent School District.

Thompson has shown his work nationwide, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Museum of African American Life and Culture in Dallas, Texas, Brazosport Art Museum in Lake Jackson, Texas, Blaffer Gallery in Houston, Texas, and the State Capitol of Texas in Austin, Texas. Andrew’s private collectors are many and scattered throughout the globe. Notably, his work is included in the African Diaspora Works for the Paul R. Jones Collection in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Pehl Collection in Eldersburg, Maryland

Thompson is skillfully adept in a wide variety of media, including watercolor, oil, pastel, pencil, and acrylic. His most successful level of artistic achievement, however, involves watercolor and acrylic painting. Art critics value Andrew’s strongest artistic attribute as his vivid, exuberant use of color.

Andrew’s art images have ranged from realistic to abstract expressionistic paintings that depicts subject matter as Buffalo Soldiers, African scenes, women, families, musicians, visual jazz composition, cowboys, still life subjects and nature scenes. Many of Thompson’s current paintings have geometric shapes and vivid colors that come alive with the energetic syncopation and improvisation of this uniquely American music.