Page 33 - Sept 2023 Galveston Monthly

René wiley’s studio in hitchcock

island in 2016 to live closer to their three daughters, who Gallery, a sanctuary nestled in the historic downtown
are all artists themselves, and their growing families. The district of the island on where creativity flows unbridled.
couple now have nine grandchildren, ages one to eleven, Now in its 14th year, the haven at 2128 Postoffice Street,
many of whom have shown interest in artistic creation. boasts an exclusive presentation of Wiley’s oil paintings
Hitchcock - an incorporated community located 14 alongside a diverse array of other original local art -
miles northwest of Galveston - emerged as a railroad including the work of two of the couple’s three grown
station connecting Galveston and Houston in 1873. As daughters, Rachel Wiley-Janota (mixed-media paintings
the twentieth century dawned, it evolved into a hub for and canvas giclée prints and photography) and Samantha
shipping vegetables, serving as a crucial point where local Wiley (commissioned oil portraits and photography). The
farmers transported both cattle and fresh produce. couple’s third daughter, Sarah Wiley Thomas, is an artist
it’s this rural DNA feeling that feeds Wiley’s artist’s in her own right. The family patriarch has managed the
soul. When not at her easel, she can be found in her gallery since it opened.
garden, communing with the soil and being present in her But it is within her private studio in Hitchcock where Wiley
surroundings. weaves the island’s tales onto canvas. The 500-square-foot
The property provides the perfect setting for mindfulness house was completed two years after the Great Storm of
and introspection, she said, adding her profound respect 1900. it was constructed using lumber rescued from some
for the natural world’s beauty serves as a meaningful of the 2,630 houses destroyed by the Category 4 hurricane
connection between her art and those who admire her that made landfall on September 8, nearly 123 years ago.
creations. “We completely restored it and laid it out to my working
“i think people see my appreciation for beauty and color specifications,” Wiley said. “i am inspired by the history of
Photos by Rachel Wiley-Janota mesmerizing victorian architecture found in the East most significant event in Galveston’s history, where Wiley
it and the thrift of repurpose.”
and the joy i feel in creating art.”
it is here, surrounded by walls that hold secrets from the
it’s not just the subjects of Wiley’s art - from the
End, the vast expanse of the Gulf of Mexico, the serene
puts oils to canvas to reveal the island’s very soul.
At any given time, her studio is brimming with art, some
wetlands, bustling harbors, inviting beaches, and the
vibrant marine life that graces the region - that keeps her
completed pieces, others works-in-process, she said.
“i make many drawings and starts on canvas, then finish
connected to the island.
each one at a time,” she said.
The Wileys own and operate the René Wiley Studio &
SEPTEMBER 2023 | GALVESTON MONTHLY.COM | 33