I am one of a selected group of 30 Texas artists for the Art of Texas Park project and received official acknowledgment as “Centennial Painters” by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The artwork “View Beyond Dogwood, Mission Tejas State Park” has been selected for Texas State Parks traveling exhibition will be held in 2023. Artwork also will be featured in the forthcoming publication by Texas A&M University Press, with Texas Parks & Wildlife.
“View Beyond Dogwood, Mission Tejas State Park” by Hailey E. Herrera, watercolor batik, 40”X30”
The artwork “Lake Raven in Spring, Huntsville State Park” will be on display for TPWF auction event at Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX and will be featured in the forthcoming publication by Texas A&M University Press, with Texas Parks & Wildlife.
“Lake Raven in Spring, Huntsville State Park” by Hailey E. Herrera, watercolor batik, 40”X30”, in a private collection
Article reprinted from Teas Parks and Wildlife News:
Park News | March 2020 | Texas Parks and Wildlife
The 100th anniversary of the Texas state park system is coming in 2023, and the planned celebration will feature an artistic component.
Thirty artists have been chosen to paint at least 60 state parks. Parks such as Caddo Lake, Brazos Bend, Galveston Island and Palo Duro Canyon will get the artistic treatment, along with future parks such as Chinati Mountains and Palo Pinto Mountains.
The list of notable Texas landscape artists who have signed on to the project include Billy Hassell of Fort Worth, Randy Bacon of Albany, Mary Baxter of Marfa, David Caton of Utopia, Noe Perez of Corpus Christi, former TPWD artist Clemente Guzman of San Antonio and Margie Crisp and William Montgomery of Elgin.
The paintings will go on exhibit in 2023 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, the Witte Museum in San Antonio and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. They will also be featured in a book to be published by Texas A&M Press.
Twenty-five percent of the profits from the sale of the paintings will go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
“There’s a wonderful legacy of art in support of the environment,” says Andy Sansom, former executive director of TPWD who is helping spearhead the project for Texas A&M Press. “This is a stunning example of that. Beyond the dollars and cents, it’s inspirational.”
Some artists have begun their paintings, and some are still formulating their artistic visions.
“I love the state park centennial painting idea, and I’m excited about my two parks — South Llano River State Park and Franklin Mountains State Park,” says Margie Crisp.
“We want the project to be a roaring success.”