A Plein Air Commission Project

A few months ago, some good friends and clients asked me to help source a painting for their newly renovated dining room. After a few conversations, we realized what they really wanted was the feel of a landscape, but with a contemporary, abstracted approach. I immediately thought of a young artist from Dallas, Erika Huddleston. I was intrigued by Huddleston’s process of “recording” a certain spot in a landscape at a certain time by painting it en plein air. Since available inventory was limited, I proposed a commission.

The clients had recently purchased some property in the Texas Hill Country that would become the site of their future retirement home. What better location for the artist to create a work that would be especially personal and meaningful? Erika took advantage of the beautiful spring weather to capture the scene. A few weeks later, the painting arrived and we all gathered for the “unveiling”.

The painting arrives

The happy clients with the artist

The resulting work is not only a beautiful fit for the current space, but also a piece the clients will take with them to their future home and cherish for many years to come.

Preliminary installation

Final installation. A simple, wood float frame both compliments the piece and sets it off in the room,

Painting Log

“Landsccape Recording Static/Dynamic: Guadalupe River I”, 2020

…5:09pm black butterfly, birds, wind, sound of flowing water, low sun, gnats in the grass… 7:40pm a hawk flapping its wings and flying low…8:45pm fireflies, big box turtle, about 1 ft long, lying in the shade on the grass…

(excerpts from the artist’s “landscape recording”)