Rockin' at the Wyndham...

by Canvas Press

2007-08-05 00:00:00

Nashville has the country music hall of fame, Cleveland the rock and roll. There is even an Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Austin, being the Live Music Capitol of the World, also has a hall of fame currently – that exists only on paper.

For a year now, Canvas Press has been partnering with the Wyndham Garden Hotel in South Austin to provide the artwork for their complete renovation. As the project nears completion, we now focus on the signature feature for the hotel's lobby. Property owner Allan Reagan has envisioned a physical "Austin Music Hall of Fame" to let guests and visitors become more acquainted with the famous Austin music scene.

It started out as a task to find images of 45 famous Austin musicians. Icons like Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Janis Joplin were must-haves. Ray Benson, Robert Earl Keen, Eliza Gilkyson, and Shawn Colvin all top the list as well. Once gathering all the required images, Canvas Press created a 24x30 Gallery Wrap canvas of each. The pieces will hang around the lobby and first floor of the hotel, alongside biography plaques introducing each artist to the viewer. An opening celebration is planned for September and will feature several artists included in the new gallery.

"We knew the quality, framing, and gallery wrapping of the photographs from Canvas Press was a great fit with our new upscale look." Reagan said.

Canvas Press has worked closely with the hotel to help them achieve the new look and feel they want the hotel to have. The location has gone through the list of chain hotels, and is ready for a fresh no look. Already the outside has had a bright facelift being painted in yellow and orange with Texas star accents. New plush and cozy furniture fills the guest rooms, and an inviting lobby, tile floors and slate accent walls have dramatically changed the overall appearance.

Canvas Press and its sister company Still Lens provided traditionally framed photographic art for all 210 guest rooms. All rooms in the main hotel unit have images with an Austin or Texas theme, while the pool side cabanas feature beautiful tropical and Caribbean themed images.

Each elevator landing in the hotel has a theme that the canvas gallery wraps focus on. The second floor exhibits local universities, the University of Texas, St. Edward's and Huston-Tillotson. The fourth floor has images of Central Texas rivers, like the Blanco, Llano, Guadalupe and Colorado.

Probably one of the most unique showcases of canvas art in the hotel is found in the Executive Board Room, named for the "Capital of Texas." The room contains gallery wraps of the Capitol building, a panoramic view of the outside as well as two square images of the House and Senate chambers. Most exciting however, is the capitol rotunda image, installed in the ceiling. While seated at the table one can gaze up at the Texas star and imagine you are actually in the capitol.