The 2-acre wide crop circle of Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke, located close to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
CNN  — 

Beto O’Rourke has made an unexpected appearance … in a hayfield in Texas.

The former Texas congressman, who announced his 2020 presidential campaign last week, was enshrined in a crop circle artwork by US artist Stan Herd.

The artwork, located near Austin, Texas, stretches across 2 acres of rural farmland near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, offering a scenic descent for air passengers.

Herd, a lifelong Democrat from Kansas, was inspired to create the crop circle to express his support for O’Rourke following his defeat in the US Senate race against incumbent Ted Cruz last year.

The crop circle took two weeks to complete and cost around $12,000.

Months after his loss, O’Rourke, a record-breaking fundraiser in the Senate race, joined the crowded field of Democrats seeking the 2020 nomination. This week, his campaign said it had averaged $47 per donation in a record-breaking $6.1 million fundraising haul on the first day of his presidential campaign, outstripping fellow candidate Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ $5.9 million.

Herd told CNN that O’Rourke offers an “inspiring” voice in response to the “frightening” nature of US politics under President Donald Trump.

“I like his populist appeal. He’s someone who will not change. He has stature, speaks the truth and is not beholden to the religious extremes,” he added.

O’Rourke announced his presidential election campaign only two days before the work on the crop circle was completed.

The artist told CNN that after searching around Austin for a suitable site, he was offered a patch of land close to the airport by a local landowner.

He constructed the crop circle using grass, gravel, wood chips, mulch and clay, laboring away for two weeks at a cost of around $12,000. He described the work as a “grass-roots” project and noted that it was self-funded.

Stan Herd was inspired to make the crop circle following O'Rourke's close US Senate election campaign against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.

Herd said he was “pretty shocked” at the political direction of Trump, whom he said he met around 25 years ago when he completed a project on the real estate developer’s land. He added that he is looking for the US to “move back to a moderate and progressive” politics.

This is not the first time that Herd has entered the political field; he created a portrait of Barack Obama in Dallas ahead of his primaries against Hillary Clinton in 2007.

Over the span of his 40-year career, his crop art has been displayed around the world, in countries including Brazil, Cuba, China, the UK and Australia.