By Max Winthrop
Reno plein air painter Erik Holland will be out in all weather over the next two weeks painting some of the iconic features of Carson City for an upcoming reception, show and sale. The event is called “Art in the Afternoon” and will take place at the Jones Mansion in Gold Hill on November 9 and 10.
Holland spent five days in Virginia City, painting from early morning until dark to catch the light in all its variety from the delicate shades of dawn to the fierce glow of late afternoon that melts away into late evening shadows. “The light is amazing up there,” he says, “especially this time of year with the low sun.”
“There’s not the same vastness of scale in Carson City but there’s more intimacy here. Some of my favorite buildings in Nevada are here. I’ve painted Jack’s Bar several times. A hangout for legislators and lobbyists, when that bar was open, there was more legislation created there than in the statehouse across the street!”
You can see some of his paintings here.
Most of Holland’s painting is done on location. Occasionally a painting will need some work in the studio, he says, but 90 percent is done in the field. He’s painted a variety of local landscapes, including the Carson River, Washoe Valley, the Bowers Mansion. He has also focused on Carson City architecture, with studies of the Rincon house, the Capital, the old Silver Spur and the Episcopal Church.
“I started out as a painter of architecture in Chicago,” he said, “and Carson City has very interesting architecture.”
Holland will continue steadily adding new work in Carson City and also in Reno, and hopes to make it back up to the Comstock for another stint before the show November 9 and 10.
“This is an opportunity for people to see the art and also to add to or start their art collection because another feature of Erik’s work is affordability,” said David Toll who is helping to organize the show. “And they’ll be able to meet Erik and talk about his work. We’ve posted images of some of this new work at www.artshowtoday.net, and anyone wanting directions or more information the event can call me at 775-847 0321.”
Holland lives and works in his loft in the old Riverside Hotel in downtown Reno. He has taught workshops at St. Mary’s Art Center in Virginia City over the past eight years, with successful shows at the Nevada Historical Society, and at galleries in Oregon and California. He is represented by Ryrie’s Art and Home, and the Artist’s Co-op in Reno.
An unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Reno in 2006, Holland is now in his seventh term as mayor of Nada Dada Motel, a colorful art event that fills up Wildflower Village and a variety of downtown and midtown motels. “We were written up in the New York Times in 2009,” Holland says, “and I consider the Nada Dada event to be a Reno-born art movement, now beginning to spread to other cities. ‘Get a room, and make a show’ is our mantra!”
Holland studied art at the Art Students League of New York, the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, and the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1991 from San Francisco State University.
