Texas Red Oak, Seasonal Study (Quercus buckleyi) — Fine Art Print

The Texas Red Oak, native to the Hill Country, is one of the few trees that brings brilliant red fall color to Central Texas. Its deeply lobed, bristle-tipped leaves and graceful form make it a prized native shade tree.

In this seasonal study, Robert O'Brien shows the Texas Red Oak (Quercus buckleyi) through the year in a single composition: a tree in full summer green beside one in autumn red, with the bare winter branching drawn softly behind them. Detailed studies of the leaves and acorn complete the plate.

Prefer the single-tree portrait? See his Texas Red Oak print from his Texas native tree series.

From The Signature Collection. On this plate Robert O'Brien lettered the common and scientific names by hand, a personal mark that sets it apart from his typeset series. See all Signature prints.

About the print

• Museum-quality giclée on 100% cotton rag Cold Press fine art paper, matte finish
• Archival inks, printed to order in the USA
• Available in large format up to 24x30"
• Ships unframed. Frame under glass or acrylic for best preservation.

About the artist

Robert O'Brien was one of the most prolific and widely published botanical illustrators in the United States. Specializing in trees for more than three decades, he illustrated nearly 100 forestry field guides and nature education publications for clients from Florida to Alaska, including the USDA Forest Service, the Smithsonian, the National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, with work also published in Austria, Canada, Sweden, Brazil and Mexico.

Educated at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Madrid, where he studied the master paintings of the Prado, he developed a distinctive method blending traditional painting with digital technique, achieving a level of botanical accuracy and detail rarely seen in the genre. His archive of more than 500 tree and plant illustrations is now cared for by his daughter, artist Kelly O'Brien.

"When I've nailed it, when I've gotten it right, that piece will go on living, long after I walk away from it." — Robert O'Brien