This course is for intermediate to advanced landscape painters who...
Want to establish a deeper, more engaged and personal connection to nature and translate that information into their work
Want to produce work that feels more personal and authentic to their lives and concerns
Want to understand, change or shift where their work belongs along the continuum of representational to abstract imagery
Are struggling or confused about originality, how to handle influences of other artists or work they like
Are experienced and want to shift, change or expand their style or subject matter
Struggling to find a process that yields consistent results
Find themselves paralyzed by too many or conflicting choices of what to paint and how to paint it
Want to establish a more focused, productive studio practice
Are professional or aspiring professionals and struggle to balance concerns about selling with their creative voice
Simply want a generous, comfortable space to explore a new style, materials, subject matter with honest, constructive and personalized instructor feedback
This is an in-depth 12 week course limited to 10 students.
You'll develop a deeper more personal connection to nature
You'll explore and identify what matters most to you in your work, what you are most passionate about and what your intentions for yourwork are
You'll open a path to creating more authentic, deeply engaged work
You'll explore a new way of managing influences and thinking about originality
You'll begin to locate your work along the continuum of representational to abstract imagery
You'll establish and strengthen a focused studio practice and process that supports your personal goals for your work
You'll experience a generous, comfortable space to explore and experiment within a supportive community of artists with honest, constructive and personalized instructor feedback
For over twenty years I have been teaching what I call the nuts and bolts of landscape painting—foundational concepts like values, color, drawing, and composition, as well as techniques like indirect painting, brushwork, and direct painting. I also wrote a book called Painting the Woods in which I wrote about how my process is tied to a deep connection with nature, observation and memory.
One of the things that has come up repeatedly over the years that I have taught and mentored artists is this idea of “voice”. “How do I find my voice?” Or sometimes “How do I find my style?” Sometimes this question comes from those who are relatively new to landscape painting, but sometimes it comes from artists who may have been painting for many years. These are important questions, but not ones we have much time to address in nuts and bolts classes.
So in 2023 for the first time I will be teaching courses on creative development. The first course- Find Your Authentic Voice As A Landscape Painter-- is designed to address this important question of voice. This 12 week intensive course is for the intermediate to advanced landscape painter- someone with a good foundation in nuts and bolts. You might be a relatively new landscape painter with a couple of years of experience in the “how to” of landscape painting wanting to take the next step in your journey or you might have many years of experience but be ready for a shift or change of direction in your work.
We will work together in a small collegial, supportive group but there will also be individual coaching sessions to address each artist’s particular goals and intentions for their work.
We’ll take a look at the nature of creativity and how we can best facilitate it, encourage it and nourish it in our creative practice. We will also take a deep dive into the idea of process—that is the way we make our work—and how attention to our own individual process can help us find our voice.
We’ll explore specific voice-finding tools like writing, walking, Pure Seeing, memory, and R&D/play exercises. We’ll also discuss the importance and managing of influences.
I am very excited about this course and look forward to facilitating an intensive program of creative development. I hope you will join us!
Deborah Paris
Course content will be available on the class platform and in Zoom sessions using Powerpoint presentations, videos, written content and discussion. Weekly exercises and assignments will focus students on the elements of each module and will be individualized as appropriate. Students will have access to the course material for 6 months after the course ends.
About This Course
FREE PREVIEWReading List
FREE PREVIEWMaterials List
FREE PREVIEWFind Your Voice Sketchbook Project
FREE PREVIEWGroup Zoom Schedule
FREE PREVIEWReading Assignments
What is Voice?
More About Our Sketchbook Project
Mindmapping Your Voice--Sketchbook Exercise
What are Your Five Words? -- Concept/Idea Exercise
Let's Play! (Video 1)
Let's Play! (Video 2)
Try Gouache!
Sketchbook As Playground--Eileen Hogan
Sketchbook As Playground--David Hockney
Week 1 Assignments--Reading, Journal Prompts and Artwork in Sketchbook
Week 1 Exercises--Sketchbook Drawings (part 2)-Demo Part 1
Week 1 Exercises--Sketchbook Drawings (part 2)-Demo Part 2
Week 1 Exercises--Sketchbook Drawings (Part 2)--Demo Part 3
Zoom Class #1
Sketchbook Play--Working with Mixed Media
Sketchbook Assignment--Week 2--Traveling Drawing
Mixed Media Demo
Drawing As Exploration & Expression--Joan Eardley
Drawing As Exploration and Expression--Van Gogh
Sketchbook Assignment--More Mindmapping
Process Mind Map--Example
Week 2 Assignments--Reading, Journal Prompts and Artwork in Sketchbook
Zoom Class #2
Another Mixed Media Demo
Week 3 Assignments--Reading, Journal Prompts and Sketchbook
T. S. Eliot
Emily Nelligan (1924-2018)
Memory Drawing--Demo
Zoom #3
David Tress- Process
Week 4- Sketchbook Assignment
Week 4- Sketchbook Assignment Examples
Week 4- Reading, Journal Prompts and Sketchbook Assignments
Sketchbook Play This Week
Make Multiples!
Week 5 Assignments
Assignment Clarification
Iterations--sketchbook, 3D, color studies
Zoom #4 Recording
Zoom #4 PDF
Collage Sketch Demo
Collage Painting Demo and Process Shots
Collage Examples--Rotem Amizur
Week 6 Assignments
Collage Examples--David Tress
Zoom #5 Recording
Week 7 Assignments
3D Constructions/Assemblages
3 D Collages and Relief Collages
Landscape vs. Scenery
3 D Construction examples
Collage--Francis Davison
Week 8--The Importance of Play
Zoom #6 Recording
Pattern
Examples of pattern in my work
Week 9 Assignments
Week 10—Learning To Evaluate Our Own Work
Week 10--Assignments
Zoom #7 Recording
Deborah Paris is an American landscape painter, author, and teacher. She is the founder of The Landscape Atelier, her teaching studio, and the author of Painting the Woods: Nature, Memory and Metaphor (Texas A&M University Press 2020). Based on a foundation of intense and close observation, drawing, memory, and imagination, her work explores an intuitive connection to and her experience of nature.
Deborah’s work is represented by galleries throughout the US. She has been featured in Art of the West, American Painting Video Magazine, American Artist, Southwest Art, The Pastel Journal and Professional Artist Magazine. Her work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the Panhandle-Plains Museum, the Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, The National Wildlife Museum, and the Gilcrease Museum.
When she isn’t painting or teaching, Deborah is an avid walker, birder, naturalist, reader, and writer. She lives and works in northeast Texas.
Visit Deborah at her website – https://www.deborahparis.com
For more about Deborah’s teaching philosophy and online learning, you can listen to this podcast.
“When covid hit, I decided to take on-line classes and workshops to elevate my painting skills. I wanted to take a deep dive to fill in the skills I was missing. I have signed up for every class Deborah offers. I am thrilled with what I am learning and how it is advancing my painting skills.”
Susan Powers
“My landscape art has improved so much because of the Landscape Atelier with Deborah Paris. Her classes simplify the complex nature of landscape art. Deborah’s classes helped me breakdown the landscape so I could focus and improve on one part at a time. Deborah’s classes will help you find your visual voice in landscape art.”
Kathy Wood
“After finishing a year of classes at the Landscape Atelier, I can honestly say that Deborah is not only a top-notch artist but also a gifted teacher. She brings her experience as an artist to teaching with a generosity of spirit that make her classes both instructive and fun. The interactive online setting with not just Deborah but also the fellow artists who participate in her classes adds to the overall experience.”
Susanne Jantsch
“Deborah is a world-class teacher. She is thorough, thoughtful, kind, and very skilled. This atelier is the place where week by week you build on your skills and understanding with lesson plans, exercises, video demonstrations and zoom meetings. You have a sense of community with the other students and her platform allows you to see other people’s work for her appraisal and for yours. She replies quickly, kindly, thoroughly.”
Maggie Parkinson
“The Landscape Atelier offers a comprehensive set of courses for developing skills as a landscape artist. Deborah Paris is an excellent instructor who has put together a package of course materials that provides guidance and inspiration. I am on my seventh course, and the way the lessons from each course connect and build on each other has been very powerful in underscoring key concepts.”
Susan J.
“Deborah Paris’ deep appreciation for the fundamentals of her craft, her intimate approach to the natural world, and her enthusiasm for teaching the traditions of landscape painting is what makes the Landscape Atelier such a special place. It is a profound place for artistic development.”
Rob Wellings