Public Art Program
Our public art program is a vision of the Round Rock Arts Master Plan.
The goals are to: Provide visual interest on the Round Rock downtown area; Increase the number and variety of outdoor public art installations by local and regional artists; Stimulate creative thought and reflective conversation among residents and visitors.
Each annual sculpture exhibit has a wonderful array of artwork that addresses these goals and helps create a more vibrant area in the center of our city. This exhibit is made possible in part by the City of Round Rock, Texas Society of Sculptors, Round Rock Arts and the City of Round Rock Parks department for expert installation of the work. Over fifty art sculptures are on loan from regional artists and installed on the Downtown, Prete and Centennial Plazas and at Chisholm Trail Park. These diverse pieces are on loan from the artists for at least one year, while other pieces, gifted by artists, call Round Rock home permanently.
Our other public art offerings, which you can enjoy in our historic downtown, include our banner murals, signal box mini murals, and our City Council Chamber gallery exhibits.
Artist Spotlights
Tony Lee
Laura Sturtz
David Deming
Sculpture Art at Chisholm Trail Crossing
The Chisholm Trail Crossing is located at 500 Chisholm Trail Road in Round Rock. Two Texas artists’ works are featured at this location, Jim Thomas and Antonio Muñoz.
Jim Thomas is a nationally published artist with numerous professional art association memberships, including TSOS, AArC, and DFAC. Among the many awards won, Thomas is a three-time “Gold Medalist” of the Texas Cowboy Artist Association. College training in earth sciences, chemistry, and metallurgy, combined with more than 41 years professional team experience with architects, engineers, government and private public art administrators are a foundation for his years of professional sculpting, art foundry, and metal fabrications experience. The following pieces were designed and crafted by Jim Thomas and are located at the Chisholm Trail Crossing:
“The Bell Steer”: First in the series and commissioned through a grant from Dell in 2003. During cattle drives, the lead steer often wore a bell around its neck to assist the cattlemen in finding the beginning of the herd.
“The Pioneer Woman”: Dedicated to the memory of Harriett “Hattie” Cluck, one of the first known women to travel up the trail. Commissioned by
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Peckham, The Pioneer Woman bears a resemblance to Mrs. Bill “Sissy” Peckham, who sat for hours with the sculptor.
“The Pioneer Boy”: Commissioned in honor of Emmett Cluck, a five year old boy who went up the Chisholm Trail with his family. Ruth Koughan made the donation for this statue and her grandson, Riley Koughan, served as the model for the sculpture.
“The Resting Steer”: Dedicated in honor of Oscar Edward Quick and Eugene Olof Quick. The Steer has the “OQ” brand, which was registered by Quick in 1891. Marjorie and Don Quick made their gift in honor of their father and grandfather, who were bothcitizens of Round Rock.
“Goin’ to Water”: As a symbolic link to their parents’ agricultural background in Texas and to their ancestors’ frontier life of the “old country,” Edward Reyes Torres, Mary Zordan Torres and Gloria Torres Zamarripa commissioned this longhorn sculpture with its Torres Reyes registered brand.
Another sculpture set featured at Chisholm Trail Crossing was created by sculptor Antonio Muñoz. His depictions of “Trail Boss” and “Foreman” commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail drives, with the figures based on two local people, Will Peckham and Eugene Beck.
The “Gathering Brands” depicts the Trail boss (Eugene Beck) and the drive had started just south of San Antonio and as he moves north many ranchers are joining the growing heard. Passing through the town of Round Rock, Mr. Beck, while on horseback and keeping an eye on the moving heard, is meeting with a local rancher, Will Peckham, to collect his ranch brand and incorporate his cattle to the drive. Mr. Peckham gently approaches Mr. Beck’s horse and greets him by petting the animal’s head, and immediately, turns, his attention to the man on the horse to engage in conversation. In the meantime, Mr. Beck holds his own branding iron and the Trail Brand to prepare a branding session, and while aware of the surrounding movement, can’t help to notice and observe the particular round stone landmark that gave the town its name.
Follow the artist: http://munozsculpting.com
Chisholm Trail Crossing Sculptures
Public Art Murals
Mini Murals
Our mini murals series places artwork at the scene of local history. These small public artworks also add unexpected interest in an uncommon location – art that is wrapped around signal box structures.
At the entrance of the Koughan Memorial Water Tower Park, you’ll find a painting depicting a group of Local Legends — Round Rock’s Domino Players. This artwork appears within steps from where these gentlemen would often play their games of “42.” Two blocks north along Mays Street (at Anderson Street) you will find a signal box emblazoned with an historic photo of the original Round Rock High School building, now CD Fulkes Middle School.
Banner Murals
Round Rock is also home to banner murals by local artists in our historic downtown setting. Located in Prete Plaza, you will find a sports art series of artworks by Violet Nicklen, as well as a seven-panel banner mural by artist Lisa Zinna entitled “Leave Me Alone,” a play on words about art about nature. At the East Main Street entrance to Prete Plaza (where we host our Music on Main series) is music-themed artwork by Amado Castillo III.
Update: More banner murals coming soon to Round Rock in Spring 2023!
Artist: Neena Buxani
Title: “Almost Paradise”
Location: Prete Plaza
Artist’s Statement:
“Almost Paradise” celebrates the beauty of nature by combining vibrant color schemes, patterns, and textures that can be found both in the natural world and in the world of fashion. I’m inspired by what I see on the runway, in stores, and in fashion magazines, and by the ways in which elements of nature are expressed through design. Like in fashion, color plays an integral role in my paintings. In this piece, I chose to exaggerate the tones of my subjects to add a dramatic effect. I believe nature has a dark and a light side. By depicting flora and fauna in vibrant, uplifting hues, I aim to highlight nature’s glamour and grace. Ultimately, my wish is to spread positivity and hopefulness through my work, one painting at a time.
About the artist Neena Buxani
Neena Buxani is an Indian-American artist who was raised on the border of Mexico in Brownsville, Texas. She currently resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and two boys. Neena has a B.S. in Advertising and Speech Communications and an M.S. in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Gemological Certification from GIA. She has worked as a substance abuse counselor, jewelry buyer, loan officer, jewelry store owner and general manager for a hotel. Her multifaceted background and multicultural upbringing has helped to shape her vision as a self- taught artist.
Neena’s work has been featured in various publications such as Create! Magazine, All SHE makes Magazine, the Friend of the Artist Book, EASTside Magazine, the Bluehost Artist Spotlight, and the KXAN Artist Spotlight. Her paintings have been represented by Tommy Bahama Home, PxP Contemporary, and Austin Art Garage. Neena has had recent solo exhibits at the Dougherty Arts Center, Austin American Resource Center, the Arts Council of Brazos Valley and the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. She has also served as a curator for the Round Rock Texas State University.
Connect with the artist
Neena Buxani
Artist: Amado Castillo III
Title: “Johnny Degollado”
Location: 221 East Main, at Prete Plaza
About the artist Amado Castillo III
Amado Castillo III is a self-taught artist who grew up in the east side of Austin, Texas. His passion for drawing and painting began at an early age. Inspired and influenced by local artist Raul Valdez, Robert Hurst and Amado Pena’s artwork and success to mention a few, Amado Castillo’s art is primarily in acrylic and oil paint. As a teenager, he was given the opportunity to design and spray paint his first mural that stated “Tejano and Proud” in graffiti style. In high school he experimented with different paints and styles, where he would bring back awards as a freshman second place at the divisional art competition Artist Harvest and the following year Honorable Mention awards. Amado now focuses on exposing his art to the Austin public and communities.
Connect with the artist
Amado Castillo III
512-925-6884
About the painting, “Johnny Degollado”:
A colorful painting of Johnny Degollado doing his musical thing. “Johnny Degollado is one of Conjunto music’s most prolific songwriters and master accordionists. Known around his hometown of Austin as El Montopolis Kid, Degollado started his own band in 1952. As a youth, he would spend weekends at an open-air dance venue called La Polkita in Del Valle, southeast of Austin, watching the best accordionist in central Texas: Camilo Cantu, also known as El Azote de Austin.” – Rancho Allegre Records. Read more about the career of Johnny Degollado: www.michaelcorcoran.net/3603
“201 Main”
Site specific work on mesh fabric
136″x432″
Location: Prete Plaza, Downtown Round Rock
Artist Statement:
201 Main is a response to the vitality of the historic downtown core of the city. Cast through a palette reflective of Brushy Creek that runs to the north of downtown Round Rock and the historical architecture scattered throughout the area, the piece is composed of cast off pieces of life that in the moment, have meaning. Imagery incorporated within the piece is ephemeral fragments reflective of Round Rock history, music, text, photography and the natural environment of this region. Rendered through multiple processes ranging from cyanotype to watercolor, the original piece was scanned, enlarged and printed for installation outside.
My process has been compared to strip piecing or quilting. Strip piecing is a patchwork quilt-making technique that is accomplished by sewing multiple fabrics together to create a “strip set” that looks just like a portion of a quilt block. The strip set is cut apart to yield segments that replace two or more pieces of fabric. I employ a similar method with found materials and papers I construct specially for the piece.
I hope you enjoy this community responsive piece. I work to continually explore themes and investigations from my daily life as an artist, educator, father, and gardener in 21st century Texas.
Artist Biography:
Working two-dimensional artist, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education, University of Texas at Austin; Master of Education in Educational Administration, Southwest Texas State University. An art educator with thirty years’ experience who is currently the Assistant Director for Visual and Performing Arts for Round Rock ISD. He teaches throughout the community, state and on the national level and is a current faculty member of The Contemporary Austin at Laguna Gloria. An award recognized professional by his peers, Mr. Lowke is a published author and working artist in addition to his art education practice.
Follow the artist: https://timlowke.com
Artist Statement:
I have this need to communicate my ideas through abstract shapes. It is my way of providing explanations about how I feel about something, or what I experience somewhere. The smooth shapes themselves tend to simplify what I see, but the placement of these shapes and their closeness to one another speak to the complexity of what I want to convey.
Artist Bio:
Betsy is an Artist who began painting within the last 5 years. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design and Costume Construction, and returned to college later to complete her Master of Science in Nursing. She continues to enjoy working as a Registered Nurse in public health, and also continues her commitment to focusing on the development of her vision as a Painter.
She celebrates her personal achievements in her studio and participates in shows around the city to be a voice in the Austin art community. What started as a small practice for self expression, has continued to grow and flourish by sharing her artistic perspective on life with others.
Betsy lives in the Austin area with her husband Justin and 3 children. Their 2 dogs and many outdoor activities give her much to appreciate throughout the year. She currently serves on the board of the local non-profit Creative Arts Society, a group for Artists in greater Austin.
Artist Website:
www.instagram.com/bybetsydenny
