Spring Workshop!

Hi Everyone! Hope your new year is off to a grand start. We are busy making preparations for our annual spring workshop to be held March 27- April 2, 2015. This year promises to be better than ever - our new studio on the historic square of Clarksville is finished, our printmaking studio is ready to go, and as always our beautiful spring landscape is just steps away. Come enjoy acres of beautiful fields of lush spring grass, huge oaks, pines, hickories and elm starting to leaf out, and blooming dogwood and wild plum. Barn buildings, wildlife and farm animals complete the list of motifs available to paint. Plus, of course, our gorgeous sunsets and twilights!

Our spring workshop includes daily instructor demos, help at your easel, access to our 700+

volume art library and some fine hospitality and home cooking too!

This workshop is organized as a field to studio learning experience for painters of all levels. Our first few days in the field will include several instructor demos (both drawing and painting) and learning a diffferent way to collect reference for studio paintings which will reduce your dependence on photography and bring authenticity to your finished studio work.

During the last half of the workshop, we will work in our brand new beautifully equipped 4000 square foot studio, finishing paintings begun in the field, as well as starting new paintings and learning about indirect painting techniques like glazing, scumbling, velatura and transparent grisaille.

Come join us for an exciting week- one that is guaranteed to introduce you to new ideas and techniques for taking your work to the next level!Registration and information here. 

Want to hear what students have to say? Click here.

Questions? Please email me. Hope to see you this spring.  Happy Painting!

Deborah

New Studio & New Home for The Landscape Atelier!

About this time last year we started thinking about a new space for a studio and for The Landscape Atelier. The south side of the historic square in our little town was being renovated, and a 4000 square foot, north facing brick storefront was available. The building is close to a hundred years old and in its time it has been a grocery store, a clothing store, movie theatre, and most recently a flooring store.

This is what is looked like in April 2013.

Now, almost a year later our new space is almost ready! It includes an exhibition space, studio, kitchen and full bath.

We are really excited to welcome our first group of students to our new space in March!

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!

Online Classes and Spring Workshop

I've just updated the schedule for online classes for the remainder of 2012 and for winter/spring 2013.  Due to a reschedule of classes this fall, I still have a couple of spots left in the Composing the Landscape Class which starts on November 16. You can get more information about all the classes and register here.

I am happy to say that my spring workshop scheduled for April 6-13, 2013 is about half full.  The Landscape Atelier is an eight day workshop designed to provide students with a start to finish methodology for creating luminous landscapes, based on observation of Nature, drawing and sketching in the field, design and composition, to underpainting, and indirect painting techniques in the studio. Information about this exciting workshop opportunity and registration is here.

Florida Workshop Wrap Up

So, here is a shot of the workshop group on our last day (photo credit: Tony De Furio). It was a great group and I think we all worked hard and had fun. Photo credits below: Karen Rose, Mallory Marshall.

Me- holding forth

Teaching indirect painting techniques is always a challenge in such a short period of time. I also wanted to make sure that I encouraged the class to work from life and especially to use drawing and observation as tools for studio work. We went out to sketch several different times and students returned to certain spots on their own when they felt they needed additional information for the work we were doing in the studio. This method of working in the field, training visual memory and using drawing as a primary field sketching tool was new to some. Those who had studied with me before in either online classes or workshops were more familiar with it and encouraged the others to embrace this way of working.

Little Everglades Ranch provided an endless source of inspiration- huge trees, ponds and lakes, beautiful morning mist, clouds and big skies, cows, horses, and all sorts of wildlife

And there was time for a little fishing. Steve had a great time!

Back Home

Morning Light- Spring

10 x 12

We got home last night from Florida. It was a wonderful 10 days and a great workshop! I'll have more photos and more to share about that in a few days.

While we were gone spring sprang here in northeast Texas. The painting above is a little clump of trees I pass every day on my morning walk and I am looking forward to seeing it again tomorrow morning. Then to the studio to unpack and get back to work. On Wednesday evening we have an entomologist taking us on a search for luna moths in Lennox Woods!

Spring Break

Spring's Promise

20 x 20

I'm taking a short break from the Lennox Woods project. Tomorrow we head for Florida where I will be teaching a workshop next week at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City. Steve and I lived in this part of Florida for many years, and of course, I was born and raised in Florida, so we are coming home. It will be a good group of 14 students, some who have taken classes or workshops before and several who haven't. We'll have fun and work hard.

My next workshop is this summer, in the beautiful San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. As long time readers know, I have participated in the Telluride Plein Air show for the last seven years which is held over the July 4th holiday. This year I'll be teaching right after the show at the Aha Haa School of Art. This is a gorgeous location and the school will provide great facilities for the class. Here's the link for more information and to register.

Little Everglades Ranch Workshop

I have just one spot left in this workshop which begins on March 26. Little Everglades Ranch is a beautiful pristine slice of "Old Florida" and a wonderful location for this class.

This five day class will focus on both work in the field and studio time, using sketches and studies to produce paintings in the studio. We will learn about indirect painting techniques like glazing , scumbles and velaturas which create luminosity and atmosphere in your works, study the works of past masters, learn about how to design more compelling finished works, and how a limited palette and and close value ranges can create a strong mood in your work.

Just one spot left. Join us for a fantastic week in Florida!

Here is the link for information and registration.

http://deborahparisonlineclasses.blogspot.com/p/workshops.html

Busy!

Late Afternoon Light
16 x 20

The last few weeks have been a busy time in the studio as I am working on several groups of paintings for a couple of different shows. The work for the group show in London and for Atlanta will be shipped next Tuesday and the others shortly after. This painting will go somewhere although I haven't quite decided where yet!

My Trees class has kept me busy as well, with my students doing some lovely work. I'm also getting ready for my Taos workshop, pulling together some teaching materials and images.

Perhaps the most exciting thing though is the seed of an idea for a new project which I'm not quite ready to talk about yet. Stay tuned!

Where to begin....

My workshop group left Saturday. It was eight days of wild weather, art, food, study, and camaraderie.



Here is the group. Left to right, Phoebe Chidester (Florida), Lisa McShane (Washington), Sara Lubinski (Minnisota), Bea Lancton (Texas) and Rae Ecklund (California). Five students is all my studio will comfortably hold and it makes for a focused, intimate learning experience. We read poetry each morning, painted like crazy, dodged thunderstorms and tornado warnings, ate great food and took a field trip to Ft Worth.

Rae, Lisa and Phoebe painting in the studio


Sara painting

Rae and Bea painting

Me-working on a demo with Bea looking on.

My husband Steve provided lunch each day for the group and several dinners as well. He is a fantastic cook and we ate well! Because the workshop included Easter Sunday we had a brunch that day too.

Steve about to serve brunch

Easter Sunday table



Sara with lettuce from Steve's garden

Steve serving his "Slap Yo Momma" Gumbo (and homemade bread!)

The Gumbo

Next time, more workshop pics and our trip to Ft Worth to see the Hudson River School show at the Amon Carter Museum and visit to Galerie Kornye West.