Bare Trees

I have a new post up on the Lennox Woods blog about the process I use to paint bare trees. Click on over and have a look!

Coming to the Woods

trunk study, oil

I have a new post up over at the Lennox Woods blog about my process as I began to work in the Woods. So, click on over!

Dusk Sky

Dusk Sky

6 x 12

Available at Panhandle Plains Museum Invitational

Despite being totally obsessed and preoccupied with Lennox Woods at the moment, I've got a couple of small paintings heading out next week to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum Invitational, which opens on March 3.

This sky was painted from memory, specifically a sky seen while driving from Clarksville to Paris a month or so ago. Here's a detail, which can be clicked on for a larger view.

Snow at Lennox Woods

The day I have been hoping for all winter arrived this week- it snowed at Lennox Woods! Click on over to the Lennox Woods blog to see more!

Autumn Sunrise- Lennox Woods

18 x 24

I am so excited to announce the Lennox Woods Project. Over the next 18 months or so, we will explore and record the pristine beauty and magnificence of the Lennox Woods Preserve in northeast Texas. Underwritten and sponsored by Galerie Kornye West of Ft. Worth, Texas, the project will encompass over fifty works of art- including paintings, drawings, etchings and drypoints-to be be exhibited in multiple venues during 2014 and beyond. A film documenting the project will be shown at the exhibitions and film clips from throughout the project will appear on the project blog over the course of the next year. A full color catalog will be produced which will include a DVD of the project film and other content. The new blog will chronicle the course of the project, recording what happens in the Woods, in the studio and elsewhere in connection with this unique multi disciplinary project.

I hope all my readers here will click on over and follow me at the new blog as well!

Drypoints on Parade

I am happy to say that these two little drypoints will be part of an exhibit at Davis & Blevins Main Street Gallery in St. Jo, TX later this month. The gallery is owned by well known Texas artist Donna Howell Sickles, and I am pleased to have been invited to show.

The theme of the show is Black, White & Limited Palette, so these small works seemed like a good fit.

Evening Pines

6 x 4 3/4

Drypoint on copper plate, Arches paper

The Pond

4 1/2 x 4

Drypoint, copper plate, Arches paper

Off to a Busy Start!

Edge of the Woods - Study

Underpainting 18 x 24

This year feels more like a sprint than a race at the moment! My new online class Composing the Landscape is going strong and I've spent countless hours in the field and in the studio working on a new Really Big Project. In early February I'll be launching a new blog to chronicle that adventure so I hope you will stay tuned!

A New Year

The Trout Pool

30 x 24

What is it about a new year we find so enticing? A whole string full of days stretched out before us full of possibilities? A chance to make amends, do better, or shake off bad habits? Whatever it is, I find myself at the beginning of this year feeling full of excitement and ready to begin. There are a number of new projects I am starting this month which I'll share in upcoming posts.

But for now, I want to thank all of you old and new readers, friends, students, and collectors for helping make the past year a successful one. My very best wishes to you all for a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!

(details- can be clicked on for a larger view)

Whistler (and me !) at BYU

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a curator at the BYU Museum of Art. They are having an exhibit of prints by James McNeill Whistler at the museum and were looking for images to demonstrate the process of making a drypoint. They asked if I would be willing to let them use some of the images I had posted on this blog explaining the technique. Of course, I said yes!. Today I received these images showing the photo credits (including an image of one of my prints!) and how they are displayed at the exhibit. You can click on them for a larger view.




The last image is one of my drypoints.

Here's a link to more information about the exhibit. http://cfacweb.byu.edu/departments/moa

Forest Floor

Forest Floor Study

14 x 11

Lately I've found myself looking down a lot. The textures, colors and patterns of the forest floor are endlessly fascinating. You can click on this study for a larger view. This is just one very small aspect of a big new project that I am very excited about. I can't say more just now, but stay tuned!

Autumn, Farewell

Autumn Road

16 x 20

Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

One of the many things I love about fall in northeast Texas is how long it lasts. From early October right through December, there is a constantly changing show of subtle autumn color, increasingly mixed with bare branches and set off by the dark greens of the pines and cedars. This year, despite the drought and perhaps because of it, the color has been a bit more saturated. The wonderful rains that finally came provided enough moisture to turn all the fields an emerald green, creating a delicious color harmony.

This little side road runs off the main route I take on my morning walks.

detail

Stocking Stuffer

Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer for an artist friend or just a holiday treat for yourself?

Studio & Business Practices for Successful Artists

Success can mean many different things- so this book is designed to help both professional artists as well as those who don’t want or need to make a living from their art, but do want to be better artists, sell more work and achieve more recognition. I share what has worked for me- and what didn’t, and why- over the last fifteen years of building a career in art.

No nonsense information from a working artist.
Here’s what is included:

~ The Three Keys to Success

~ Studio practices that make you a better artist and sell more art.

~ The Pipeline

~ Go Where the Collectors Are
~ Pricing

~Choosing the Right Venues- Pretty Is As Pretty Does

~ How to Approach a Gallery

~Self Promotion

Studio & B...

For Successful Artists

By Deborah Paris

Book Preview

Studio Improvements

For the longest time, Steve has wanted to build me a drawing table. I resisted and I really have no idea why. But, finally I relented and of course he made it bigger than we discussed- but I am so glad!

The surface is 38" x 72". I use a sketchbook in the studio for thumbnails, so there is room for that plus now I also have a place to make my more finished drawings, work on my drypoint plates, and a place to lay out drawings and color sketches that I use as reference for studio paintings. The other nice feature is that it will fold down flat against the wall when I need more room.



He also made this handy taboret that holds my drawing supplies and room on top for an ink/watercolor palette.

Next up is my flat file which I am really looking forward to having. But, for now, I love my drawing table!

Dusk Study

6 x 12

Last week was my birthday. We took a day trip to Ft Worth to see the Caravaggio show at the Kimbell Museum and delivered a painting to my gallery in Ft. Worth, Galerie Kornye West, which is just down the street from the museum in Ft. Worth's Cultural District.

As we headed home, we saw a beautiful dusk fall over the landscape. With the intensity of the sun below the horizon, the sky took on a beautiful glow and the reflected light into the clouds was magnificent. I painted this little study from memory.

Grudge Match

Summer Song

25 x 21

Some paintings just seem to fall off your brush effortlessly. From the first whisper of an idea to the last little tweak, they proceed as if the conclusion is forgone and inevitable, gracefully coming to fruition just as you imagined in your mind's eye. This was not one of those paintings.

This painting came kicking and screaming every step of the way. It started as the demo piece for my workshop in Taos. After bringing it back, I decided I didn't like the composition or the color harmony. I chopped it- from a 30 x 24 to its current size. Now, this is something I never do. But, it needed it, so I took a saw to it. I glazed it, reglazed, it got too dark, I scumbled it, and glazed it again.

More glazes, and then some glaze impasto. Too warm, I glazed it with a cool transparent blue on the left side. The top foliage wasn't right. I painted it out and scraped it back a half dozen times. Some velatura passages in the foliage. Glazes on top of that. I gave up on it. I came back to it. I hated it. Then I liked. Later the same day I hated it again.

Finally, there were little glimmers of hope. I kept at it, finally getting down to a few small adjustments. And then it was done, or I called it so. I've made my peace with it. But, I still hold a grudge.

All images can be clicked for a larger view.