June 2015

"Blue Jay Landing" 
Lithograph, 22” x 22”
by Billy Hassell

“From the scale patterns of a fish to the flight patterns of birds, there are patterns everywhere in nature,” writes Billy Hassell, “overlapping and intersecting in what appears at first to be total chaos. I look for repetition and order.” Fascinated by the ways in which nature’s patterns guide our common, everyday designs—think about wallpaper patterns and fabric design—Hassell’s colorful paintings bring his unique perspective of the outdoors into indoor spaces.

A native Texan, artist, and environmentalist, Hassell has been letting nature lead his brush for more than twenty-five years. His colorful and expressive artworks, frequently featuring birds and indigenous flora and fauna of Texas and the Gulf Coast region, have been exhibited nationwide and are included in the permanent collections of the Houston Museum of Art, the Menil Collection, the Fort Worth Modern, and the Dallas Museum of Art. Next time you fly through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, look out for Hassell’s “Early Morning Flight,” a twenty-foot-diameter mosaic, set into the floor of the airport’s D Terminal. In Louisiana, see more of Hassell’s works at LeMieux Galleries, 332 Julia Street, in New Orleans. lemieuxgalleries.com. billyhassell.com.