Splash the paint behind the scenes with San Marcos first studio tour

The inaugural city-wide San Marcos Studio Tour kicks off today and continues through the weekend.

The event, organized by MotherShip Studios, is a free, self-guided tour featuring over 50 artists from across San Marcos and surrounding areas. Artists will be showcasing their studio spaces and artwork. The studio tour’s aim is fostering the already existing arts community within the San Marcos area while at the same time inviting others to interact with the artists’ work.

Nearly 50 locations will host artwork as part of the event, most of which are in San Marcos but some stretch towards Martindale as well.

“We will showcase the messy workspaces, the paint-splattered floors, the at-home and garage studios, the cluttered art supplies, the inspirational walls of reference photos and the clay-ridden wheels,” Courtney Peterson, of MotherShip Studios, said. “We will provide an opportunity for artists to show the raw spaces from which they create. These environments, though sometimes unpolished, are where the magic happens and creativity flourishes.”

While the majority of them are the home studios of each artist, some are group exhibits at public spaces like the San Marcos Art Center, Studio San Martian, School of Art & Design at Texas State University and MotherShip Studios.

For the tour, Mothership Studios will provide a tour map with numbers for each artist and signs to display during the tour weekend. A catalog of the tour participants will be available for purchase at MotherShip Studios. In addition to the map of all tour stops, this catalog will provide details on each artist, including images of work and short statements about the artists.

The kick-off event will feature the group exhibition, a live printing demo, music by local musicians, a raffle giveaway and complimentary drinks sponsored by local breweries such as Middleton Brewing, Still Austin Whiskey and Austin Beer Works.

The San Marcos Studio Tour kicks off at MotherShip Studios on Friday, March 31, from 7 to 10 p.m. at 20027 San Marcos Hwy 80, Bay 5. The tour continues April 1 and 2, from 12 to 6 p.m. at participating gallery spaces within the cities of San Marcos and Martindale. This event is free and open to the public. For information, visit the website at mothershipstudiostx. com and follow on Instagram at @mothershipstudios. smtx.