Troy Broussard

The STURDY Act, Betty Washington, and another American blue dress mystery.

One of the topics in a recent morning meeting was the implementation of the STURDY Act. So what is this new law that no one has every heard of? The Stop Tip-overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth Act mandates new guidelines and restrictions on the furniture industry to prevent top heavy casegoods from killing people. Colleagues sat aghast that Congress has nothing better on which to be working but to screw over our livelyhoods. "This must be a knee-jerk reaction to the death of George Washington's sister," I commented. "She was killed while rooting around in a highboy for her husband's secret letters." Portrait of Betty Washington Lewis, 1750, by John Wollaston the Younger, Mount Vernon Ladies Association, ...

By Troy Broussard|2023-03-29T16:42:51-05:00March 26, 2023|Furniture & Design|

The League-Kempner Mansion in Galveston is endangered without its determined new savior

The League-Kempner Mansion represents the last great house of the Broadway Castle District designed by Nicholas Clayton. One of the most intriguing houses in Texas is, until recently, one of the most endangered. The last of Galveston's privately owned Gilded Age homes, the League-Kempner Mansion is in danger of loss without its determined new savior. At 1710 Broadway, the home was built by Galveston aristocracy John Charles League and Nellie Ball in 1893. It represents the last great house of the Broadway Castle District designed by Nicholas Clayton, architect of the Bishop's Palace. A pair of limestone Ionic pilasters frames the front door. Following League's death in 1916, matriarch of the Kempner family Eliza Seinsheimer Kempner ...

By Troy Broussard|2022-11-13T14:41:49-05:00November 10, 2022|Destinations|

So you were curious about my sketchbooks?

So you were curious about my sketchbook? And you're thinking about starting your own? Here is my encouragement for all skill levels, punctuated by drawings from the first six months of my 2022 sketchbook and a few quotes by some of our favorite artists. (Disclaimer: Some artistic representations herewith represent the human anatomy.) Subject matter for my sketchbook is a hodgepodge. Art history began on cave walls when early humans felt an innate urge to draw. No one knows exactly why prehistoric humans made art, but it was almost certainly as spiritual as it was a form of communication--but it could have been for fun too. For decades I have carried a sketchpad and pencils in my backpack, ...

By Troy Broussard|2022-07-04T16:43:23-05:00June 24, 2022|TroysArt|

The historic Fanthorp Inn: Four Presidents and forty Spittoons

Hidden down a scenic road about 20 miles northeast of Washington-on-the-Brazos, the Fanthorp Inn captured my imagination the first time I set eyes upon it How can a building exist in four different countries without ever being moved? Simple: the structure was part of Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the USA, the Confederate States of America, and back to the USA again. Hidden down a scenic road in Grimes County, about 20 miles northeast of Washington-on-the-Brazos, the Fanthorp Inn captured my imagination the first time I set eyes upon it. So I found the occasion to step back in time for a TroysArt Travelogue. Joining me for the excursion into Texas history is my gal pal Stacey Abbott, ...

By Troy Broussard|2022-05-20T10:30:31-05:00May 19, 2022|Destinations|

I haven’t been everywhere. So why not a trip to Cleveland?

Tennessee Williams infamously said, “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.” I adore the quote, and I have used it before—after all, I do love New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans! But I haven’t been everywhere. So why not a trip to Cleveland? And one must appreciate the randomness of a trip to Cleveland for my first flight since we were all locked down for Coronavirus. The Arcade, a quintessential Cleveland landmark, is where I find my hotel, the Hyatt Regency at the Arcade. I knew nothing about Cleveland. Who really does? The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the theme song for the Drew Carey Show ...

By Troy Broussard|2021-11-10T14:19:52-05:00November 9, 2021|Destinations|

A TroysArt sampling of Houston’s Best Food

When asked about favorite foods, people usually answer in generalities like “pizza” or “pasta”. The response is often broader, encompassing whole countries or cultures—"I like Chinese food" or "I like Mexican". I go out to eat often, most days in a week, and am asked with regularity to recommend restaurants. But lately, especially since the closing of so many restaurants due to Covid, I have considered my favorite dishes—the foods I crave. So to answer the question of what I like, instead of answering “Vietnamese” or even with the name of a specific restaurant, I am naming dishes. And this collection is not just good food, it is a sampling of Houston's best food—dishes that will not only amaze but ...

By Troy Broussard|2021-06-20T14:20:21-05:00June 19, 2021|Food & Beverage|

Pochade Box: a fancy word for a traveling art kit

Pochade Box ready for travel. Now is the season to get outside. The weather is perfect for outdoor activities—outdoor painting being one of them. And there are artists with the ability to paint outside with achingly beautiful results (unfortunately I am not one of them but it doesn’t stop me from trying). En plein air is the act of painting outdoors, enabling an artist to capture the changing details of light and weather. With the invention of tube paint in 1841, artists were able to carry their supplies. A pochade box is used to make painting outdoors more convenient by organizing equipment as if a mobile studio. John Constable, one of the early plein air artists, was known ...

By Troy Broussard|2025-10-10T17:25:09-05:00May 7, 2021|TroysArt|

Yes, I made other pictures besides toilet paper in 2020!

2020 was a disaster—the weirdest year of my life. And making paintings of toilet paper was the lion's share of my body of work. Canvases depicting white paper rolls found homes faster than any other series in my art career. But, yes, I made other pictures besides toilet paper in 2020! This post is a humble overview of recent works. But be warned, more sentences here begin with “I” than in an Obama speech. "Lalique" 2020, private collection Houston. Pet portraits have been a staple for me for over a decade. And though I did not do too many this year, I did some good ones. (Link to TroysArt: A few recent pet portraits). I work from photos ...

By Troy Broussard|2020-12-16T15:26:19-05:00December 12, 2020|TroysArt|

The coronavirus era and a symbol of the times—paintings of toilet paper

2020 - A Sign of the Times, 12x12" canvas. (Private collection, Sugar Land, TX.) Toilet paper is cheap and mundane—an everyday product to perform a menial and unpleasant task. But this has been a bizarre year and I find that nothing could be more emblematic of 2020, the coronavirus era, than a roll of toilet paper. How many conversations were had over the quandary of toilet paper hoarding? Has anyone made sense of it yet? I have not. I was shocked when I saw that the entire toilet paper aisle at my local grocer with shelves wiped clean, signs posted to limit the number of packs per customer, even if available. The media reported that almost every grocery ...

By Troy Broussard|2020-07-17T14:09:23-05:00May 13, 2020|TroysArt|

The hyped & hidden highlights, haunts, & hangouts of New Orleans

Bart Simpson once said, "When the Big Easy calls, you gotta accept the charges." And that has pretty much been my motto for years. So in October, while having dinner with a handsome fellow, I discovered that he had never been to New Orleans—and that sounded like a call to me! That meal was our first time to get together but we had a great rapport and a lot of fun. So within a week we were set for hitting the hyped & hidden highlights, haunts, & hangouts of New Orleans. My BFF gal-pal, former Lake Charles glamazon, Terry now lives in New Orleans. Not that I ever need a reason to hit the Crescent City. But my ...

By Troy Broussard|2019-12-23T11:33:51-05:00December 15, 2019|Destinations|

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About Troy Broussard