This piece was a inspired by a drive I took from Austin back to New Orleans, LA during spring when the wildflowers start to bloom. If you’ve ever driven country-road highways in Texas, you’ll be stopping every other minute to take in the most beautiful fields of wildflowers you’ve ever seen.

TEXAS HIGHWAY
Chalk Pastel on Paper
50 × 76 cm // 20 × 30 inches
Framed and matted to 29 × 39 inches
Somewhere between Austin and New Orleans, US
Created in New Orleans

L’HISTOIRE

For the past 15 years, I’ve spent countless months, holidays, and visits with my aunt and her family in Austin, Huntsville, and across Texas, helping Rae with her fieldwork as a biologist and visiting my brother in Galveston. I’ve driven from New Orleans to Austin and back more times than I can count—once, I even drove LeRoy (my first and only Jeep Wrangler, now sadly sold) from Austin to Taos, NM. Needless to say, I love the Texas countryside.

When I was a kid, my great-uncle lived out in the countryside outside Houston (where he was an artist and teacher). I remember the fields of wildflowers bright red and purple, a wave of colors washing over the horizon.

PROCESS & MATERIALS
I create each original chalk pastel painting on 100% cotton, deckled-edged, cold pressed heavy weight art paper. My preferred chalks come from the artisanal pastelliers in Roussillon, Provence, in tandem with Senneliers chalk pastels - a very high quality, hand-crafted, elegant range which blends and layers perfectly.

As part of my process, I create a layered thickness to the chalk itself by using art fixative spray in layers as I work - not just as a final finish like you would a varnish. In this way, I can create a pastel painting which shows more texture and depth than your average pastel drawing on paper.

HANDLING
Chalk pastel, however, remains a fluid, movable medium which will never fully “set” like a varnished oil painting, for example. This is one of the reasons I love this medium so much, but which requires dedicated care and attention for handling.

FRAMING
Framing is included for this artwork, and I will be in touch about your framing after purchase. I absolutely love frame details and will be delighted to discuss options and recommendations with you.

SHIPPING
This art ships from New Orleans, LA, USA - Packaging original art is an art form unto itself, and one which I have been honing for years. I package your original art with as much care as I took creating it.

Let’s talk about any questions you might have - please don’t hesitate to reach out.