Workshop Week in a few words and lots of pictures

The workshop bunch has come and gone and I am back at work in the Woods and in the studio. It was a good week with lots of hard work, fun and camaraderie. Here are a few highlights.

Obligatory group photo!

We spent day 1 & 2 in the field

Lolly drawing at the secret pond

Bea among the bois d'arc

Steve's wonderful food

My favorite workshop moment courtesy of Fleda Kraft

At work in the studio

A walk through Lennox Woods

Low country shrimp boil

Whatever I was saying provoked a sneezing fit!

Artists in Residence

The Historical Society of Red River County sponsors an Artist in Residence program. This program, which is the brainchild of my husband Steve, brings painters, sculptors, writers, filmmakers and other creative types to Clarksville for one to two week residencies.

This past week we have hosted Denise LaRue Mahlke and Kim Carlton. Yesterday they painted in the woods across the road from our home. It was a gorgeous spring afternoon and as the sun went down and it got chilly they enjoyed the warmth of a big bonfire on our property.

Click the link to see a short video!


Artist in residence

Busy Spring

In about 10 days I have five artists coming for the Advanced Workshop & Mini Mentorship here at my studio. They are traveling here from all points across the country, braving the difficulties of getting to Clarksville. In fact, one my students said that getting to Clarksville was more challenging than the logistics of her former job as field director for a state governor's political campaign!

So, we are in high gear here getting ready for that. I am also organizing my materials for the online Skies class I'll be teaching in a few weeks, and finishing up the last week of the Luminous Landscape class in progress now. I've got several larger paintings going in the studio, but none of them are in "postable" condition just yet. So, here are a couple of sketches by John Constable, the great early 19th century English landscape painter, who I have written about many times on this blog (see sidebar for links). Constable undertook several campaigns of skying during his career and left us with a record of not only the weather but the very heart of his art. Enjoy!

Last Train to Clarksville

Winter Crows

6 x 6
Available at Deborah Paris Fine Art

I have had a number of inquiries about the workshops I am teaching in March and April that start with the question-where is Clarksville and how do I get there? Another popular question is whether this is the Clarksville of the Monkee's song Last Train to Clarksville. The answer to the latter tells you a lot about the answer to the former. Clarksville is one of the oldest towns in Texas, having been established in 1833. It has the oldest extant courthouse and the oldest newspaper still in print in Texas. At one time Clarksville was a thriving town and a center of the cotton trade in this part of the southeast. There were about 14 cotton gins in and around Clarksville and a cotton exchange on the town square. The railroad came through the north side of town with a depot, and number of storage facilities and grain elevators at its main crossing. The town's fortune's began to wane in the 50s, and at some point, not only did the train stop running, but the tracks were actually taken up. Not exactly a vote of confidence about the future of Clarksville. So, by the time the Monkee's wrote their song in the 1966, not only was there no train to Clarksville, there were no longer any tracks.

Lately though, things are looking up. A beautiful renovation of the historic courthouse was completed a few years ago, and the town square was renovated and refurbished with a Main Street grant last year. The beautiful old brick buildings are beginning to be restored and an art gallery opened on the square last year. Recently the block on the south side of the square which includes the old cotton exchange has been purchased with plans to renovate it. And, there is a lovely B&B in an historic home a few blocks off the square. Still, getting to Clarksville can be a challenge. Needless to say, there is no train. Its located in the northeast corner of Texas, so its within driving distance of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana and about a two and a half hour drive from either Dallas or Oklahoma City (the closest large airports).

For me, the landscape is the biggest draw- lots of rolling hills, fields, ponds, big oaks and tall pines and a slow pace to life that allows me to explore them all. The workshops will be held in my studio on our property- a comfortable, easy environment for learning and painting, both in the studio and outdoors. I am looking forward to sharing them with my students this spring. Both classes are limited to 8 participants and are beginning to fill. So, if you are thinking about signing up- don't miss the last train to Clarksville.