April 24, 2024

Author: Troy Broussard

Troy Broussard is a designer, artist, & writer living in Houston, Texas.

Recent Articles

A TroysArt sampling of Houston’s Best Food

: Food & Beverage : Written by : 06-19-2021

The Goi Vit at Huynh is a salad like no other. This salad will change your life.

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 …continue reading

Pochade Box: a fancy word for a traveling art kit

: TroysArt : Written by : 05-07-2021

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 …continue reading

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

: TroysArt : Written by : 12-12-2020

Inks Lake, 2020, on canvas, Troy Broussard, private collection Houston.

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. 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 …continue reading

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

: TroysArt : Written by : 05-13-2020

2020 - A Sign of the Times, 12x12" canvas. (Available)

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 …continue reading

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

: Destinations : Written by : 12-15-2019

Tino wanted a picture in from of Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, the American Horror Story Coven House.

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. Not that I ever need a reason to hit …continue reading

A few recent Pet Portraits by Troy Broussard

: TroysArt : Written by : 07-10-2019

"The Haute Pets" 2018, 16 x 20" canvas.

A few recent Pet Portraits by Troy Broussard:  The dog has been man’s best friend for thousands of years and, in many cases, the dog has perfected the relationship better than man has.  I grew up with dogs—all types of animals really.  The Broussards always had dogs and cats, but at certain points in my childhood we also had Guinea pigs, mice, hamsters, rabbits, hermit crabs, chickens, ducks, geese, guineafowl, parakeets, tropical fish, goldfish, turtles, a crawfish, a lamb, a horse, pigs, a raccoon, and even an alligator.  We had just about everything but a monkey.  So between my history …continue reading

Troy Broussard – 30 years of interior design

: Furniture & Design, TroysArt : Written by : 06-20-2019

For Perrault Design Associates, all of my drawings and plans were done by hand.

Interior design forms the link between architecture and humanity.  Anyone with a credit card can walk into a furniture store and fill a house.  But without the proper understanding of scale and proportion and the right talent and resources to “pull it together”, it can be money poorly spent.  Using an interior designer is not as intimidating as it sounds.  In fact, it is guidance that is undervalued and underutilized.  With 30 years of design experience and in conjunction with the launch of my new Troy’s Design (Click this link forTroysDesign) page on the TroysArt website, this essay is about …continue reading

Everything you need to know about Vincent van Gogh

: Artists, Destinations, Galleries & Museums : Written by : 04-26-2019

Vincent’s self-portraits have established him as one of the most famous faces in history. Self Portrait, 1887, oil on cardboard.

Most people whom I know have a favorite artist.  And there are dozens of artists that I adore, even crave.  I love Eduard Manet for his strong color and composition; I love John Singer Sargent for his scale and painterly brushwork; but above all, I love Vincent van Gogh for his ebullient colors, skewed perspectives, and life story.  So imagine my excitement when I heard that an assemblage of 50 paintings by van Gogh would be exhibited in Houston–and only in Houston.  This TroysArt post is not only about Vincent van Gogh: His Life in Art at the Museum of …continue reading

Martin Dies State Park: A tent near the water

: Destinations : Written by : 11-15-2018

My recent escape in a tent near the water at Martin Dies State Park in Jasper, Texas.

November 2018:  Imagine an evening in the wilderness, gathered around a campfire with friends and a few bottles of wine.  An airy tent with an inflatable mattress and fresh sheets is only stumbling distance.  A vacation is not about distance traveled or money spent but rather about moments shared.   And my recent escape in a tent near the water at Martin Dies State Park in Jasper, Texas, was just that. In March I penned one of my signature TroysArt travelogues about a camping trip to Guadalupe River State Park (TroysArt – Camping is just code for drinking under the stars).  …continue reading

San Francisco—hobos, homos, Rice-A-Roni, and the Golden Gate Bridge?

: Destinations : Written by : 08-16-2018

The TransAmerica Pyramid Tower is like a fabulous obelisk and is a favorite for me—like a priceless bibelot in the center of an antique vitrine.

August 2018.  What does anyone, who has not been, know about San Francisco besides hobos, homos, Rice-A-Roni, and the Golden Gate Bridge?  At my age and with the travel I have accomplished, it seems crazy that I have not been there.  While working in California, years back, I would occasionally fly in and out of San Francisco but that is only geography.  Tennessee Williams said, “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans.  Everywhere else is Cleveland.”  By Williams’ ringing endorsement alone, San Francisco warrants a visit.   So this summer I set my sights on the Golden …continue reading