The overcast summer morning was putting Malia Quinn’s artistic assessment of South Padre Island to the test.
Gray skies had moved over from the Gulf of Mexico to replace the usual August Island sunshine. Even then, the shades of coastal grays validated Quinn’s belief in the Island.
“There’s something special about the lighting here,” the artist said looking out the windows of her gallery on Padre Boulevard. “I don’t know what it is, or how to describe it, but even the gray days here are beautiful.”
Those are high words of praise coming from a realism artist who specializes in landscapes. Quinn describes her work as going beyond literal representations of what she sees when painting. She seeks to create art that “transcends into something more interesting.”
“Her goal is to create loose and striking paintings that avoid unnecessary detail and instead focus on the abstract qualities of light, form, and space,” says a description of one of her paintings at the gallery.
South Padre Island, Quinn said, “checks all of the boxes” as a place to live and work in pursuing her artistic interests. The Hawaiian native came to the Island via Colorado. Mountains were exchanged for coastal life in standing behind her easels. The former commercial graphic designer has found a home and a niche on South Padre. Her recent business startup – Quinn Gallery – fits right into the Island’s growing arts community.
Meeting The Artist
Quinn’s gallery is located next door to the Art Business Incubator South Padre Island in what has emerged as a focal point for the arts by the beach.
It’s in the 2500 plaza which includes the art-friendly Karma Coffee & Books, a custom jewelry business, and the ABI, the cradle of artistic expression on the Island. Quinn progressed through a one-year residency at the art business incubator. It included collaborating with and learning from fellow artists while learning the aspects of running and owning her own business.
Perhaps most importantly, the residency gave Quinn a connection to meet customers directly and not go through a third party selling her art. She was accustomed to the latter in Colorado. At the Island, there is that instant feedback and communication in seeing the impressions made on potential purchasers of her artwork.
“There’s more of an impact when you meet the artist,” Quinn said. “It takes a risk to be an artist because you’ll experience rejection. Not everyone will get what you do, but there will be those who do. You have to wait for them to show up.”
Quinn found sufficient customer acceptance at the ABI to go with her inclination to paint water and ocean. It’s what drew her to the Island to begin with in leaving Colorado.
“I decided if I got in the program and did well, I’d stay,” she said of ABI. “Being in the program taught me a lot about what people expect and want to buy. I saw the potential if I could produce enough art, especially the bigger pieces that people want for their homes.”
A New Experience
A recent walk into the Quinn Gallery found the artist drawing a live portrait.
A wife and daughter looked on excitedly as Quinn painted the father and husband of the family. He was smiling as his loved ones were commenting on the emerging likeness they saw taking shape on Quinn’s easel. The artist relishes such interactions and the reactions of tourists who come for the beach and discover art just a short walk away.
“I enjoy being an artist in a tourist location,” Quinn said. “I like the energy of the people who visit. They’re out of their element. They’re so much more in the moment here.”
She especially enjoys her visits with Island visitors from other communities in the Rio Grande Valley. In many cases, she said, walking into her gallery may be the first time a local resident has experienced such a visual artistic experience.
“It’s wonderful just to see the looks on their faces when they see the paintings,” Quinn said. “It’s really exciting to be part of it.”