Podcasts

Scatter Creek in Winter

Available at my Online Holiday Studio Sale

You have probably noticed that artist podcasts have become increasingly popular over the last few years. I enjoy listening to them in the studio. It gives you can opportunity to hear artists talk first hand about their work, how they make it, and life as an artist.

I have been a guest on a couple of podcasts. My interview with Danny Grant on the Studio Podcast was a really enjoyable experience. Danny was a thoughtful interviewer and we had a great conversation on several topics. In particular, I got to talk about my philosophy of teaching online and also about the importance of my daily walks and memory to my work. So have a listen and i hope you enjoy!

I was also interviewed on the Savvy Painter podcast. With over a million downloads worldwide, this podcast has a big reach! Check it out here.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

It's Snowing!

Winter Woods

20 x 16

OK, not really. It is rare for me to be painting ahead of a season. usually I am several steps behind, still painting spring when summer is in full bloom or painting fall when it's Valentine's Day. In this case, I managed to get out ahead of the season. I was happy to conjure up the cold quiet of a winter's day inside my studio while heat and humidity still prevail outside.

This painting will be exhibited at the Collectors' Reserve Show & Sale at the Gilcrease Museum, TUlsa, OK, November 6, 2014.

Sprint

Reflections on Winter

16 x 12

It's a sprint to the finish line! That's what I told a friend yesterday. Actually, it's more like a slow motion ant farm. With two ants (me and Steve).

I have a brand new online class starting at the end of February. This one is called Understanding Values in the Landscape. Value problems account for a lot of what goes wrong in painting. So, learning to sort out those pesky values is an essential part of learning to paint well. We'll cover Carlson's Theory of Angles of course. In addition, we will study how to create certain effects of light by careful attention to the value range or 'key'  which is used and how to compress the value range effectively from what is seen in Nature and what our materials are capable of producing. Students will learn the value ranges to use to create the illusion of a sunny day, an overcast day,  a foggy or rainy day, backlighting, patchy sunlight, nocturnes, etc. So, give yourself an early Valentines Day present, and sign up here!

Less Is Not Always More

 Whose Woods These Are

54 x 72

(click for larger view- pardon the homemade photography)

Sometimes it's just less. One of the great challenges of this project is to find a way to convey the Woods in a way that is authentic but still suggestive and full of mystery. And to do that in sizes ranging from 12 x 16 to 72 x 96.  In a 12 x 16 you can use one brushstroke to describe what requires a complicated passage in a larger work. But more importantly, you have to find the right balance between what Asher B Durand called imitation and representation. There are some things which can be imitated and some things that can only be represented (I would use the word suggested perhaps). The right balance is essential to capture a sense of place and yet retain the mystery and mood you want to convey. I wanted the paintings to look like the Woods without being literal portraits- to convey a palpable sense of what it feels to be in this place. That requires something more than suggestive generalization and less than simply copying what you see.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Recently Adopted!

These four paintings recently found new homes. Thanks to my wonderful collectors!

 Sunset Pines

11 x 14

 Dusk-Edge of the Woods

18 x 24

 Aspen Twilight

20 x 24

Winter Morning

18 x 14

Merry Christmas!

Edge of the Field 

8 x 10

This little painting was done about two years ago and posted on this blog around this time in 2010, I think. Recently, I decided to tweak it a bit, adding some cool notes and also the movement of the birds in the sky (click for larger view). It still says a lot about how I feel about the landscape around my home in the fall and winter months -something starkly, simply beautiful and melancholy at the same time. And it also speaks to my place in the scheme of things.

Best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season!

Winter Trees

Winter Morning

A student shared this poem with me today and so I am sharing it with you. As a lover and painter of trees, I find it touches many things that I think about them. Enjoy!



Vertical


by Linda Pastan

Perhaps the purpose
of leaves is to conceal
the verticality
of trees
which we notice
in December
as if for the first time:
row after row
of dark forms
yearning upwards.
And since we will be
horizontal ourselves
for so long,
let us now honor 
the gods
of the vertical:
stalks of wheat
which to the ant
must seem as high
as these trees do to us,
silos and
telephone poles,
stalagmites
and skyscrapers.
but most of all
these winter oaks,
these soft-fleshed poplars,
this birch
whose bark is like
roughened skin
against which I lean 
my chilled head,
not ready 
to lie down.

Time Warp

Winter Morning

18 x 14

This is another painting I have been working on for a while. Its all green and spring outside now but I love the fact that I can reach back and recreate a morning full of winter mist and soft earthy color harmonies.

Here are a few details.

Snow Day!

Yesterday a big storm blew through leaving six inches of snow (unusual for us). We've had snow about once a winter since we moved here, but it always warms up and is gone within a day or less. But, cold weather is supposed to hang around for a few more days so today was a snow day! We went out to explore late this afternoon. I was particularly struck by the rusts and ochers in the trees and grasses, against the violet sky and cool expanse of the snow. I came home with more than a few ideas for paintings and etchings or drypoints.

Winter Birding

Black Capped Chickadee
2 1/2 x 5 1/4
graphite on sketch paper

Bird watching is one of the simple pleasures of winter. We have an abundance of subjects to watch at the feeder and bird bath these days. The usual suspects- chickadees, titmice, juncos, robins and cardinals. But, the cedar trees and a huge old mulberry tree on our property also make this home to bluebirds, pine warblers, cedar waxwings, several species of woodpeckers and the elusive yellow belly sapsucker. Still, the little chickadees remain my favorites.

The new online class Painting Water starts next month. You can click here for information and registration.

Winter at the Pond

Winter at the Pond
oil 6 x 6
Sold

Earlier this week we had cold foggy weather. The vault of the sky was so leaden and heavy it seemed it might collapse in on itself and completely envelope the earth. I love the muffled quality of sounds and the gauzy look of the landscape on days like this. One of the challenges of painting these effects is understanding that the sky is actually lighter in value on foggy or overcast days than it is on a sunny days, so the entire painting must be keyed higher. And of course, the range of values is much more narrow. The sky is slightly darker closer to the horizon, and grades lighter as it goes up-again, exactly the opposite of what it does on bright sunny days. But, what I love most are the soft edges and the exquisite jewel like warm tones against the sea of fog and mist.


2009 Workshops

Gratification-Delayed

Winter Greys
6 x 6
Private Collection

Yesterday I took a drive of about 60 miles round trip over to the vet's to pick up medicine for Sophie (our oldest Corgi). Its a trip I take about once a month and I always look forward to it. Although the landscape along the way is very similar to where we live, it does have more of the tall pines this area of Texas is known for (more about that later). Yesterday,the fog was thick and I was fascinated by the variety of greys- from the violets and blues in the distance to almost maroon/wine colored greys in the near trees. By the time I got home, I had an entire painting composed and painted in my head.

I have never been a patient person. I tend to want what I want, when I want it. Instant gratification- a birthright. As my husband says of me in former days, before we came to the Bubble, "you were in a hurry". So it is probably a great cosmic gotcha that I have adopted a mode of painting that requires me to paint, wait, paint, wait, paint, and wait some more. Which is why I am posting a painting today done this time last year and not the one I started yesterday.



Deborah Paris Fine Art- Small Gems -Big Art in a small package

March Snow

March Snow Oil 6 x 6
$100 + shipping
Sold
Winter just won't give up- we have had snow twice this week. This doesn't happen often here- although there is some difference of opinion about what that means. Our mail delivery person (mail lady?) says twice a year (she's batting a 1000 as of today) but our wood delivery guys say every couple of years, in which case we had two years worth of snow this week.

Sunday I am heading to Dallas to do a demo and talk for the Pastel Society of the Southwest. Happily, the big show of landscape giant J.M.W. Turner is at the Dallas Museum of Art right now. This show, which originated at the National Gallery, includes 140 oils and watercolors, many from the Tate Britain which have never been seen in this country. Turner is a huge influence on my work, so this is a rare treat and I can hardly wait!

Winter Greys #4

Winter Grey's #4 oil 6 x 6
$100 + shipping

This is the last of the Winter Greys series I think. I actually painted this back in December on one of those spectacular foggy winter days, but forgot to post it. Today it was 70 and spring does in fact seem near. I am working on some larger pieces for shows and galleries which is at least one of the reasons posting has been more sporadic. I'll post some work in progress if nothing else later this week.

After The Rain

After the Rain oil 6 x 6
Sold

Well, the flirtation ended abruptly. The last few days have been cold, windy, rainy-decidedly unspring-like. I don't really mind- I love the winter color harmonies and I'm not sure I'm ready for green 24/7.

Bogata Barns

Bogata Barns 6 x 5 oil
Sold

Today was a beautiful sunny day with mild temperatures. It felt and even smelled different. And then at sunset I noticed that the sun had moved a little to the north. Is winter over? I doubt it, but Spring sent out a scout today.

Winter Crows

Winter Crows Oil 6 x 6
Sold
We have some crows that hang out on our property. I love watching birds but I am not a big fan of crows. They do make a lot of racket but what I really don't like is that they raid other birds' nests. Last summer I watched from my studio window as a pair of them took on a snake -they won. But, I must admit they make an elegant, albeit slightly sinister, accent in the winter landscape.

Winter Field

Winter Field- 12 x 12 oil
Sold
Some of you may recognize this painting- a small version of this was posted a few weeks ago. I liked it and decided to try to size it up to use for the Panhandle Plains Museum show. I wasn't sure if I could recreate the texture in the field with the dry brush technique I mentioned in the previous post. I made a few changes but overall I think it worked out well.

I also got some good news late yesterday! I had two paintings accepted into the prestigious Salon International show at Greenhouse Gallery.

Winter Greys #3

Winter Greys #3 oil 6 x 6
$100 + $10 shipping

This week we had freezing rain followed by freezing fog. I have to admit, that's a new one to me! I do love the color harmonies it produces in the landscape - and the utter bareness of the trees and the muffled quality of both color and sound. Its such a lovely contrast to the sensual melancholy of fall and the lush exuberance of spring.

Winter Field- A Bluebird Day #2

Winter Field- A Bluebird Day # 2 Oil 6 x 6
$100 + $10 shipping

Its hard to believe that two days ago I was painting in my studio wearing a jacket, fingerless gloves and ear muffs with the little electric heater going full blast! But today, well...it was just another bluebird day.