Deborah Paris

Summer Skies #2

2009-07-19T18:31:00.005-05:00

Summer Skies #2

5 x 5

A storm came through a few days ago just at sunset, and thankfully cooled things off a bit. I love how dark the sky can get right before the rain starts.

Skying

2009-07-17T07:29:00.011-05:00

Summer Skies

4 x 12

"I have done a good deal of skying, for I am determined to conquer all difficulties, and that among the rest."

John Constable, October 1821

As regular readers of this blog know, John Constable, the great 19th century English landscape painter, is a major source of inspiration to me. I've written about him here , and even named a storage area in my studio for large canvases the Constable Closet. Constable was one of the first artists to make plein air sketching part of his regular working process. During the summer months, he would leave his studio in London and roam the Suffolk countryside. He had a particular interest in skies and today his on the spot sketches (annotated on the back with date, time and weather conditions) are among his most compelling works.

So, in homage to Constable and the season, for the next little while, I'll be painting and posting sky studies. These small works are not meant to be finished pieces, just research and development (R&D). Like Constable, I hope they will bring greater power, authenticity and feeling to the work I do in the studio.

Summer

2009-07-15T20:05:00.006-05:00

The Boys of Summer
(our neighbors)

This week its been beastly hot- a 30 degree + about face from the cool mountain weather in Telluride. But, it seems right. Puts me in mind of all those hot summer days when summer vacation meant three whole months of swimming, riding bikes from morning until dusk, and catching fireflies in glass jars until the mosquitoes chased you inside.

These guys belong to our rancher neighbor. They are all two and three year old geldings- none in regular work yet. This maybe their last summer before they start their careers as ranch horses. For now, though, they spend their days grazing, playing the occasional game of grab-ass and retreating to the shade when the afternoon sun gets too hot. Seems about right.

Home Again

2009-07-07T21:21:00.009-05:00

We're home. July 4th in Telluride was terrific as usual. I wrote a bit about the celebration in the last post. One of the things I didn't mention, is that in addition to the fun funky part of the parade and festivities, this little town goes all out to honor Veterans. Every year, all Vets present on the 4th, whether from Telluride or visitors, are invited to march in the parade. This year my husband Steve (USMC 1967-1970) marched with about 25 others (including several artists from the show). The crowd cheers, small children shout "thank you", the band plays- it was very moving-especially since Steve and his comrades never got a parade or thank you when they came home. I was very proud.

The show ended on a positive note with another sale, and we headed home on Sunday morning. Driving through New Mexico, we were treated to what we used to call "Maynard Dixon skies" all day...

Then, a big storm rolled in and we saw this:

And, finally a moonrise through the storm clouds

Quite a show.

Telluride Plein Air Day 5

2009-07-03T18:18:00.002-05:00

Evening Aspens
12 x 12

The day started out wet and cloudy -not auspicious for the first day of the public sale. However, by lunch the sun was out and so were the people. There was a steady stream of traffic pretty much all day- some artists did well, others not so much. I made some sales and felt like it was a very good day for me. Steve and I felt we'd received very positive feedback on both the work and the framing. Yea! Tonight is the Artist Party, then the second and last sale day tomorrow.

The 4th of July in Telluride is really special. Its a quintessential small town America celebration with a funky local parade, big barbeque in the town park followed by fireworks against the backdrop of the mountains. In addition every year there is a fly over right before the parade starts of two F-16s that come screaming down the box canyon, fly right over Main Street and bank up and away over the mountains. I've seen it three times and every time I get goosebumps. Happy 4th everyone!

Telluride Plein Air Day 4

2009-07-02T13:07:00.005-05:00

Last Light on the Valley Floor

12 x 8 -12 x 12 -12 x 8
Sold

This is the piece I finally selected for the silent auction (again, sorry for the horrible image!). It turned out to be the right choice. The triptych format garnered a lot of attention and bids! The event was well attended- Jill Carver won Artists Choice. Congrats Jill! The public sale starts this morning...gotta run!

Telluride Plein Air Day 3

2009-07-01T14:27:00.005-05:00

Twilight Moon
18 x 15
Sold

The moon won't actually be full until next Monday but I've taken the liberty of showing it about two thirds full here- a little artistic license! Tomorrow morning we have to deliver our pick for the silent auction tomorrow night- this one is in contention, but I'm still working on a larger triptych that might win out.

Tomorrow is also the quick draw on Main Street and then we vote for Artists Choice, which will be announced at the silent auction. The public sale starts Friday and continues through the 4th. Crunch time!

Telluride Plein Air Day 2

2009-06-30T18:47:00.008-05:00

Aspen Trio
Triptych- each panel 8 x 6
Sold

OK, so first-I am sorry about the quality of images I'll be posting this week. Trying to do this on the go doesn't always yield great results. Here's my fist effort- a trio of aspen paintings at afternoon, evening and night.

Last night's artist orientation was thankfully a bit shorter than previous years. It was great to see everyone returning and also to meet the new artists who are here for the first time. For a list of the participating artists and more info about the event click here.

Although everyone has told us about how much rain and cool weather Telluride has had this summer, today was sunny and warm. I've got the aspen triptych finished and most everything else in various stages- from underpaintings to first glazes. I'm using a bit more opaque paint than I usually do just so I can get the work done in time. This year we have one less day to paint (only three full days plus two partial days) so there is more pressure than ever.

Time to head out for evening light......

Telluride Plein Air Day 1

2009-06-29T17:10:00.005-05:00

We arrived yesterday afternoon after spending the night in Placitas NM (where we lived for five years) with our friends Ted and Linda Heath. The drive through northern New Mexico, our old stomping grounds, was beautiful as always. Then, we traveled through Durango to Delores, winding through the mountains to Lizard Head Pass and finally Telluride.

First stop was to drop off frames to Jill Carver who was painting from this spot above Telluride.

That's the village at the end of the box canyon. I've painted two nocturnes from this spot in previous years, but this year, as I did last year, I plan to focus in on some more intimate scenes. Next, we stopped at the Sheridan Opera House so I could get my canvases stamped, then on to our hosts' home on the edge of the village.

This morning Steve headed back down to south of Lizard Head Pass to fly fish while I organized my stuff and tried unsuccessfully to get my ancient laptop to cooperate. Later we found a spot on Leopard Creek to fish and paint .

Tonight there is an artist orientation -but not until 8:30- so there will be plenty of time to take advantage of late light and the rising moon.

On the Road to Telluride

2009-06-23T16:58:00.012-05:00

Telluride Dusk
20 x 20

We're heading out Saturday morning for Telluride. This painting is one I am taking for the exhibition which hangs while we paint en plein air next week. The insurance company finally authorized the repairs to my car and a rental, so we'll be driving a spiffy mini van with lots of room for frames, painting gear and other essential stuff.

Painting Telluride is always a challenge for me- much cooler light and big, spectacular views. Its the poster child for what the Hudson River School painters would have called "sublime". But these days, I favor more intimate settings, so I'll be looking for a clump of cottonwoods or a stand of aspens.
I plan to blog throughout the week, so check back in- and wish me luck!

The Dog Days of Summer

2009-06-16T11:28:00.013-05:00

Daisy, Dixie, Archie & Emma

Its finally hot. The dogs like to lie in the yard and bake their little brains (except for Emma who is perpetually on the hunt). While they are sunbathing we, however, are in high gear. We leave for the Telluride Plein Air Invitational on the 27th. This will be my 4th year in this show (I blogged about it last year here). We have several orders of frames to finish before we go and I am working away on a painting for the "Masterpiece" exhibition (the one studio piece we can bring which is exhibited during the week we are painting en plein air - I really wish they would change the name of that!)

And, of course my car is a total wreck (literally) so we have all sorts of logistical issues to resolve. My inlaws arrive on the 24th to house and dog sit while we are gone (thanks Lois & George!). So, no dog days here!

Oh, and just a few spots left in each online painting class.

Last Light

2009-06-12T17:25:00.010-05:00

Last Light
24 x 30
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

This is one of those paintings that just refuses to be photographed properly. Actually, a lot of my paintings are that way, because of the glazes I suppose. I tried this one in all my usual spots and nothing seemed to work, so finally I just gave up and clicked. The foreground is too red and the greens in the trees (which balance the color harmony) can't be seen. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow and if I hold my mouth just right........

In other studio news, while I was out having my near miss last week, Steve was working on the studio to surprise me when I got home. We still have a lot left to do, but the storage area is finished and completely filled.

And the study area in the studio (which Steve refers to as the employee lounge) got a coat of paint and the bookshelves installed (they still need to be stained).

New Online Classes

2009-06-08T14:18:00.003-05:00

I've just scheduled two new online classes. Here is the link for more information and registration.

A Near Miss

2009-06-06T17:11:00.012-05:00

Evening Sky
10 x 10
Private Collection

Friday I drove over to a small town about 60 miles north of Dallas to judge an art show at the local art center. It turned out to be a very enjoyable experience- I was impressed with the facility, the staff, the artists and patrons and their passion for bringing the arts to this community. About 7:30 I started home- the full moon was rising over the fields of north Texas and I was anticipating the drive home at my favorite time of the day.

Then a pickup truck headed in the opposite direction did a U turn and pulled out right in front of me. I swerved, avoiding hitting him broadside, struck a glancing blow to his front bumper, flew off the road, mowed down a road sign, careened down an embankment, through a barb wire fence and into a pasture. It was all over in a few seconds but its amazing how many thoughts go through your mind in that short period of time-most of them fairly grim. When I finally came to rest in the pasture, my first thought was how surprised I was to find myself still holding onto the wheel and ok, albeit sitting in a front seat covered in glass (the sign had flipped up over the hood, smashed the windshield and then the sunroof). Cade, the other driver, an eighteen year old on his way to high school graduation, was also ok. The story could have ended much differently- I could have broadsided him, or the sign could have hit the windshield six inches lower and ended up in the front seat with me, or my car could have rolled. But, as it happened, Cade will pick up his diploma and head off to ag(ricultural) college in the fall and I was in my studio this morning- counting my blessings.

2009-06-04T14:38:00.013-05:00

Evening Primrose
10 x 10
Available at Deborah Paris Fine Art

A few weeks ago I posted the start of this painting. I didn't touch it for a while, and when I started back to work on it, I really struggled with the balance between just enough and too much. I opted to leave a lot of the underpainting visible and just a whisper of paint on the flowers and leaves.

Lynne Windsor, a good friend and terrific artist, has started a blog. She is primarily a landscape artist but lately has been painting some lovely birds and nests. Click on over to see her work!

Early Moonrise

2009-05-29T16:36:00.012-05:00

Early Moonrise
36 x 30
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

"To rise, I must have a field to rise from."
Mary Oliver

I've been looking into phases of the moon lately and moonrises in particular. Online you can find out when the moon was full a hundred years ago or when it will be a hundred years hence (remember, hope springs eternal). What surprised me though was how often the moon rises at midday or early afternoon. When I was out walking this afternoon I looked for it. There it was almost directly overhead at 6PM. So, those early moonrises on summer nights when the moon rises as the sun sets are not so early after all.

Welcome, Summer

2009-05-22T20:13:00.008-05:00

Hayfield Evening
30 x 40
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

Our weeks of rain gave way to a few days of sunshine this week and the landscape responded by bursting forth in that sort of disheveled, frowzy way usually reserved for late July. The wrens that hatched in the shop have flown the nest. Crickets, and bees and mosquitoes have all come out in force. And, I ran into a huge box turtle on my way to the studio this morning. Hello, Summer.

Evening Pond

2009-05-16T13:11:00.017-05:00

Evening Pond
36 x 30
Available at Loretta Goodwin Gallery

Here's one of my favorite poems by Mary Oliver- enjoy.

In Blackwater Woods

Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

Hope Springs Eternal

2009-05-13T12:53:00.014-05:00

Work in Progress
Evening Primrose
10 x 10

Many years ago, at the beginning of my former life, I had a law professor whose favorite phrase was "Hope springs eternal". He used it often- usually in an ironic or sarcastic way- to respond to student questions. It became a sort of mantra my classmates and I used to describe our miserable plight. Over the years, it still pops up in my head from time to time. A few weeks ago I was out walking and noticed that the Evening Primrose, a wildflower that blooms in north Texas in April and May were out. Spring offers a bonanza of wildflowers in Texas, the most famous being the showy bluebonnet. But, my favorite is the primrose- its delicate, translucent, pale pink flowers held up by impossibly thin, wispy stems- it seems too fragile to ever survive, much less thrive along the roads and across the fields of north Texas. And yet, it does. Hope springs eternal. These days, it means something completely different to me.

Studio News

2009-05-07T18:50:00.009-05:00

We are doing more than growing tomatoes (upside down or otherwise) around here. I've been working on a whole new batch of paintings, including several for a new gallery (more about that later!). And, Steve has been working on the studio improvements in addition to his regular job as chief frame maker for Mountains Edges Frames. The Constable Closet has drywall .

And my bookshelves are in progress in the shop.

I also heard this week that Blackheath Gallery in London has sold two paintings!

The Tomato Growing Throw Down

2009-05-04T17:33:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago Steve came home with one of those upside down tomato growing contraptions you've probably seen on television ads. I don't quite get why growing a tomato upside down in a plastic tube should produce a better crop of tomatoes and this thing seriously offends aesthetically speaking. But, he was convinced he would have a huge harvest because, well, he saw it on TV. So, we decided to have a tomato growing throw down- he with his new school, upside down, plastic thing and me with my old school, Beefsteak in a clay pot with dirt.

Its still too soon to call this thing, but so far my tomato has set more flowers and just yesterday I noticed......

a wee tomato!

Reveille

2009-05-02T16:50:00.006-05:00

Reveille
10 x 12
Available at Deborah Paris Fine Art

This serene image belies the stormy weather we are having at the moment. Thunderstorms and tornadoes are moving across north Texas so I will post this quickly before we lose power and/or cable. I'll be back tomorrow with an exciting report on the Tomato Growing Throw Down!

A New Day

2009-04-25T16:23:00.015-05:00

A New Day
10 x 10
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

The other day I read that scientists have determined that space begins 62 miles above the earth's surface. The article included a photograph taken from space at an oblique angle of the earth and its atmosphere. It was shocking- that thin little envelope of air separating us from deep, black space. Sixty two miles- that's about the same distance I drive round trip to the nearest Walmart. Nothing could more emphatically demonstrate the fragile, tenuous nature of our existence. And yet, the thing that struck me- just as it does when I stand at the edge of a pond or watch the weather blow in from the west- is the incredible inventiveness, the sheer creativity of Creation.

Still Evening

2009-04-23T17:45:00.016-05:00

Still Evening
10 x 10 oil on linen
Available at Blackheath Gallery, London

The Early Summer Show at Blackheath Gallery opens on Saturday, 10-6. If you happen in be in London, pop in! The show runs through June 6.

Online Painting class- Painting the Luminous Landscape, May 15- June 12. Just two spots left!

Seeing the Start

2009-04-19T10:27:00.021-05:00

Work in Progress
30 x 70 triptych

Something happened yesterday in the studio that was, I think, a completely new experience for me. I've been thinking about painting some large pieces lately and buoyed by the imminent completion of The Constable Closet, I decided to start a 30 x 70 triptych this weekend. I filled up pages of my sketchbook with thumbnails and completed two underpaintings of pieces with a similar motif. I could see in my mind's eye what color harmony and effect I wanted and a general idea of the motif, but I still hadn't worked out the composition. I tend to work in squarer formats so composing this elongated horizontal was giving me fits. Plus, composing a triptych is arguably three times as challenging because each panel must stand on its own as well as support the whole.

So, when I went to the studio yesterday to start it, I still hadn't really settled on a composition. I thought I'd sketch some more and try to resolve it. I walked in and put the three panels up on my easel and moved the other two pieces I had already laid in to my work table. I looked at them, then looked at the panels and well, I "saw" the composition on the panels all laid out. I didn't think, I didn't conjure it up, I just saw it. It only lasted a few seconds, but I saw it.

I was taught to "see" the final work in my mind's eye and this is what I also encourage my students to do. But that exercise, at least to me, is more about the translation of the subject into paint-understanding what you want your finished painting to look like before you start- seeing the finish. This experience was more about process- more about "seeing the start". And I didn't "see" it in my mind's eye, I saw it on the panels. Or, maybe I just had one too many Diet Cokes.