So, let’s kick things off with a little thought experiment: if West Texas had a smell, what would it be? Fresh crude, leather boots, and maybe the ghost of a really expensive cologne drifting down a corporate hallway? Welcome to Landman, where Bryan John Venegas, set decorator extraordinaire, is the guy mixing all those aromas with his unique blend of style and pure, genuine Texas grit. After all, when you’re capturing a world that flips between luxury boardrooms and the not-so-glamorous oil patch, you need somebody who truly understands both ends of the stick. In Season 2, Venegas doesn’t just dress the set — he drapes it in authenticity.
Building Boardrooms and Boot-Scuffed Bars: Venegas at Work
Let’s zero in on the duality here: on one end, you’ve got those M-TEX Oil boardrooms. Leather chairs so plush, a billionaire would salivate. Glass gleaming, abstract art glowering from the walls. Every inch screams power and old money, and Venegas handpicks everything from oily brass desk lamps to vintage drill bits mounted like trophies. The guy isn’t just finding furniture; he’s curating ambiance.
But the story doesn’t end there. Swing open the doors and suddenly, you’re choking on West Texas dust. Saloons and bars sporting tabletops etched with a thousand stories. Scraped hardwood, neon just faintly flickering above shelves stacked with the good (and not-so-good) bourbon. Venegas layers grit on the glamour. So you blink, maybe cough, and believe you’re right there with the roughnecks after a twelve-hour shift.
How He Walks the Authenticity Tightrope
Here’s where things get spicy. Venegas kicked accuracy into overdrive thanks to real-world help. The Landman team didn’t rely on the imagination alone. They brought in Dr. Marshall Watson, the actual chair of Texas Tech’s Petroleum Engineering Department. The guy knows more about oil than most of us know about Netflix passwords. He advised on everything that should look, feel, and even smell realistic. And, he didn’t just visit the set for lunch — he ran cast bootcamps. The actors learned to hold a wrench, sling some jargon, and survive the sun without melting.
Venegas took these lessons to heart. His teams used actual gear straight from the field. Camouflage covers on tool benches, grease-stained blueprints, half-drunk mugs of burnt coffee. Set designers even replicated the infamous American Association of Professional Landmen headquarters, so sharp-eyed industry pros could hardly spot the fake. That’s how much detail rides on every single prop.
Let’s pump the brakes for a second. For those not in the know, Venegas’s crew didn’t just make do with whatever they found at the hardware store. Nope, they filmed in the actual Fort Worth Petroleum Club. If you’re imagining mustached bigwigs in crisp suits closing deals over steak and whiskey, you’re pretty much on the money. Because of this choice, every scene set there carries real Texas oil legacy, straight onto your TV.
From Fort Worth to Fiat Barstools: Where the Magic Happens
If there’s one thing Venegas knows, it’s that you can’t fake Texas. So, much of the season planted its roots right in Fort Worth. Want another layer of realism? Texas Christian University’s historic campus rolled the cameras, too. Between these two spots, Venegas assembled a backdrop so true to life, even the locals did a double-take. He didn’t miss the small stuff. For example, he sourced regional artwork that actually hung in early 20th-century Texan homes. Framed maps yellowed by imagined decades of sun. Oilfield badges winked from desks. Ashtrays brimming with hand-rolled cigarettes. Even the “employee of the month” plaques feel like they’ve got some beef behind them.
So, what’s the trick to balancing over-the-top flash with down-and-dirty fatigue? Venegas says it’s about rhythm. Too glossy, and the world feels fake. Too sloppy, and you miss the pride these oil barons carry. Every conference table tells a story — some have polished marble, others have water rings left by nervous hands. The aim is to keep that pendulum swinging between awe and grime, pageantry and patina, every single episode.
When Consultation Makes the Canvas
You might not notice it at first glance, but social media has plenty of love for Venegas’s choices. Sharp-eyed fans have spotted references to historic oil booms tucked among props. An old West Texas Drillers cap here, a battered “No Smoking” sign with a ’70s logo there. People who worked the fields in real life have chimed in online. Many say the show nailed it, right down to that unique way dust creeps into every inch.
Behind the scenes, Venegas hit up local antique stores, partner salvage yards, and even a few museums. He didn’t cut corners. For the oilfield scenes, he tracked down decommissioned machinery from around Lubbock. In bars and diners, extras sipped local sodas and tapped along to regional music spun from vintage jukeboxes actually hauled in for the shoot.
Plus, the team’s attention to detail wasn’t just for show. The cast went through “roughneck boot camp.” Not kidding. Real rig hands trained them on the how-to’s of pulling pipe, cursing the heat, and making coffee over a toolbox lunch. It wasn’t enough to look right — they had to breathe it. Bryan Venegas watched every step, taking notes, tweaking set pieces so nothing felt out of place.
Quick Hits: Venegas’s Proven Strategies
- Collaboration with Dr. Watson and the Texas Tech Petroleum Engineering team for real technical detail.
- Use of actual West Texas locations: the Fort Worth Petroleum Club, TCU, authentic regional bars.
- Sourcing of props from across Texas – from antique stores to oil museums.
- “Immersive boot camp” for the cast and crew, ensuring the environment feels lived-in.
- Layering props: dust on helmets, oil stains on clipboards, mismatched mugs in break rooms.
And because Venegas loves both a challenge and a punchline, he once admitted on set, “If nobody’s finding dust two weeks after wrap, I’ve failed.” Overheard at the craft services table. That’s dedication.
The Social Buzz: When Fans Catch On
Social media? Full of screen grabs. Fans spot all sorts of “Easter eggs.” Someone flagged a lunch pail sticker referencing a legendary Midland driller. Others debate which Fort Worth steakhouse inspired the club’s kitchen. Even the folks at Everything Lubbock ran features about the boot camp and the show’s deep ties to Texas iconography. Real-life roustabouts tweeted out approval — the highest kind of compliment.
TikTok got its share of love. Locals posted cameo sightings during set dressing in old downtown Fort Worth. “Saw them setting up a fake oil lease sign — looked too real!” one resident wrote. Pretty soon, people started playing “spot the prop” whenever a new episode dropped. It’s like Where’s Waldo for oil buffs and Texas diehards.
A Legacy Written in Dust and Polished Chrome
Bryan John Venegas isn’t just a set decorator. The man’s a narrative artist, laying down storylines in coffee stains, pinstriped drapery, and stacks of industry paperwork. Every detail winks at history. Every room tells a secret.
Landman’s West Texas feels alive because Venegas and his team simply refused to settle. They worked each set until it fit — sometimes until 1 AM, rubbing dust on windowsills and crumpling papers just so. The result? Authenticity wrapped in showbiz dazzle, always entertaining, never fake. And the wildest part? It’ll keep you guessing about which details are straight out of the history books and which ones his clever team sneaked in for their own amusement.
So next time you plop down for another dose of oil drama, raise a toast (maybe with an old-school Dr. Pepper) to the guy who made West Texas real for all of us — one greasy, gold-plated armchair at a time.
