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

Back In the Woods- Exciting News!

I have been back at work in Lennox Woods for about a month now, working in both the field and the studio toward my solo show Lennox Woods-The Ancient Forest next March. And there is exciting news about the exhibition!  The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) will be co-hosting the show! BRIT has a beautiful new facility located in the Cultural District in Ft. Worth near Galerie Kornye West. They have a spacious exhibition space which will be a perfect venue for the large format paintings. On Spring Gallery Night, March 29, 2014 there will be simultaneous openings at BRIT with 16 large format paintings and at Galerie Kornye West with another 25 paintings.

Galerie Kornye West and I are excited to partner with BRIT for this exhibition! In addition to the show, a lecture series, gallery talks, and other special events are planned in connection with the month long exhibition.

Me standing near #52, one of the huge short leaf pines in the Preserve

Out of Season

Summer Evening

10 x 12

This small painting was started as a demo in my workshop in Telluride last summer. I just got round to finishing it, and it will be available at Galerie Kornye West in Ft Worth next week. A bit late and out of season, but it can be any season in the studio- or several! This week as I was finishing this up I was also working on a snow scene of Lennox Woods!

I am back to work in earnest for my solo show next year, Lennox Woods- The Ancient Forest.  I will have news about that soon. Stay tuned!

Field Sketching

The online class  Field Sketching for Landscape Painters begins March 8. Whether you are new to working outdoors or an experienced plein air painter, this course will get you ready for the spring and summer season!

Here is a description of the class. Join us!

Working from Nature and direct observation is the time honored way to learn how to paint landscapes. Unfortunately, many aspiring landscape painters miss the essential first step: learning to draw and sketch in the field. If you are unable to draw the landscape you will have a much more difficult time learning to paint it convincingly. Most classes and workshops jump into plein air painting without giving students any tools to make a success of their efforts. This course is designed to give you the tools to draw and sketch in the field with confidence, both improving your plein air paintings and leading to better, finished work in the studio.

Topics covered will include:

~drawing materials and techniques
~a history of field sketching and study of examples of 19th century field sketches (drawings, watercolors and oils)
~how to do close studies of elements in Nature, value studies and thumbnails sketches
~how to use field sketching to gather reference material for studio work (and reduce your dependence on the camera!).
~how to use field sketching to aid in working from memory and imagination

Not sure that an online class is right for you? Click here to read what students say!

Walking

Dawn Study

8 x 10

I am back to my morning walks. Walking is for me my most intimate connection with the landscape, my subject. I am in it and its scale (and mine) are obvious to me. Many of the artists and writers I revere were dedicated walkers- Emerson, Thoreau, Constable, Frost, just to name a few. This is no accident. Walking clears the mind and attunes the senses. It is a great pleasure, especially on these winter mornings when the beautiful, bare bones of the landscape are scattered before me.

Painting Water

A Little Night Music

12 x 10

Painting Water Online Class

February 8- March 8, 2013

For centuries the depiction of water has challenged artists. Its unique properties- transparent, reflective, moving, still- create wonderful visual opportunities. This course will cover water features such as rivers, lakes, creeks, and ponds. We'll examine both the natural characteristics of water and techniques for depicting them:

~ how are reflections created and how to depict them

~ how the depth of water affects its color and value

~ the structure of waves

~ how the surface of water is affected by wind

~ techniques and color palettes for water

~ using water features in your compositions

Registration for Painting Water here Online classes are a great way to study at a slower, measured pace and on your own schedule. Participation is limited to ten students, so there is plenty of individual attention. To learn more about how these classes work, click here.

Many students find this way of learning to be challenging, effective and convenient. Not sure an online class is right for you?  Click here to read what students have to say. Register today!

Deer Stalking

We live in a very rural area and so seeing whitetail deer is a common occurrence, but this past fall we seemed to see more and more and closer to our property. In fact, the huge acorn crop of the big white oaks on our land attracted some regular visitors for several weeks.

The last week or so I have been out in the late afternoon looking for them in the woods across the road. We are surrounded by woods and fields and I have learned where they can be found around dusk. The other day I was lucky enough to be in just the right spot as four does came out of the woods.

The Painted Sky

The Painted Sky Online Class

January 18-February 5, 2013 For landscape painters, painting a believable sky means creating a sense of distance, atmosphere, light, and mood. This course is designed to give students the knowledge and techniques to paint beautiful atmospheric skies. In this course we will cover: ~ gradation of colors in the sky at various times of day ~ gradation of values in the sky ~ types of cloud formations and how to depict them ~ use of atmospheric and linear perspective to create believable      skies ~ glazes and scumbling techniques ~ using a variety of edges in painting skies ~ composing skies for maximum effect Registration for The Painted Sky here Online classes are a great way to study at a slower, measured pace and on your own schedule. Participation is limited to ten students, so there is plenty of individual attention. To learn more about how these classes work, click here.

Many students find this way of learning to be challenging, effective and convenient. In any given class I may have students from throughout the US as well as Canada, the UK and Europe, so it makes for a lively, interesting learning experience. Click here to read what students have to say. Jump start your creative efforts in the New Year-register today!

Renewed

In Morning Light

This image might seem an odd one to use on this cold, wintery January 1st. But, it seemed to fit perfectly with my frame of mind as the new year begins.

We all look forward to the new year and the chance, at least metaphorically, to begin again. Our resolutions often focus on what we can do better or what we can do less or more of. I am less in a reforming frame of mind than one of renewed and grateful dedication. Serious illness, which I have faced these last six months, has a way of focusing the mind wonderfully. It brings pain and fear but also reveals much about ourselves and those around us. In my case, I am grateful to begin the new year well, cured and whole. I am more than ever sure of my path and eager to do the work I am meant to do.

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.

Stocking Stuffer!

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

There's still time for delivery before Christmas!

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 twenty 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

How Can You Become a Poet?

REPLY TO THE QUESTION: “HOW CAN YOU BECOME A POET?”

take the leaf of a tree
trace its exact shape
the outside edges
and inner lines

memorize the way it is fastened to the twig
(and how the twig arches from the branch)
how it springs forth in April
how it is panoplied in July

by late August
crumple it in your hand
so that you smell its end-of-summer sadness

chew its woody stem

listen to its autumn rattle

watch it as it atomizes in the November air

then in winter
when there is no leaf left

invent one

~ Eve Merriam (1916-1992), American poet and playwright

Small Works, Great Wonders

This past Friday night was the opening of the Small Works, Great Wonders show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. This is an invitational show which includes Prix de West artists as well as other invited artists. I had not thought I would be well enough to go, but at the last moment decided I just did not want to miss it. So Steve and I made the 4+ hour drive up Friday. 

The Museum was packed, the show was beautiful and sales were brisk, including one of mine! I am back home and exhausted, but so glad I went. I have written before about this museum and also its connection to my friend and mentor Hollis Williford. So, it was a very special evening and I think Hollis would be proud!

 Aspen Sunrise

16 x 20

Aspen Sunrise found a new home. Steve loves this piece but I almost didn't send it, fearing it was too subtle and would not be appreciated. Well, it got six bids- shows you what I know!

Summer Song

20 x 16

Autumn on My Mind

Due to illness, I have been away from both the studio and the field for about seven weeks. This is the longest hiatus away from creative work that I have had in the last fifteen years or so. I don't like it one bit, and particularly during this, my favorite season. So today I thought I would post some images from other autumns which were more productive. Just looking at them makes me long for a nice long tramp in the woods. Soon.....