Art of Texas State Parks opened on January 12 at the Bullock Museum, Austin. For the first time in the Texas State Park System's 100-year history and in celebration of its centennial, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has commissioned Texan artists to paint scenes from their 65 parks, natural areas, and historic sites.
My painting “View Beyond Dogwood, Mission Tejas State Park” is featured in this exhibition. Journey through the rugged mesas of the Panhandle to the steep-sided mountains of Big Bend, the waterways of the Gulf Coast and more in this exhibition on view through April 30.
View Beyond Dogwood, Mission Tejas State Park,
watercolor batik on mulberry paper mounted on canvas, 2020
"Before my visit to the park, I know several points of interest would be a rough replica of Mission Tejas - the first Spanish mission in Texas - and the Rice family log home. At these sites, the sense of history was very tangible. Sitting on log pews raised above the flagstone floor and looking at the fire place made of limestone and petrified wood, I glimpsed the past and imagined the life of settlers. While I was preparing a painting of the mission building, I decided to add dogwood flowers in my composition. Along with the cross on the top of the roof, flowers shaped like a cross remind us of Christ."
- Hailey E. Herrera, Bryan
