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MEET THE ARTIST Robert Frost Paris Paris' paintings, in opaque watercolor on linen, are done in a realistic style. Sticking with what he knows and loves, his subject is rural North Dakota along the Missouri River. Frosty finds many of his numerous breathtaking sites along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Duck sloughs and prairie grasslands frequently find their way onto a Paris canvas. Committed to distributing original work Paris includes documentation with each painting. A unique twist is that most paintings includes the GPS coordinates of the actual painting site. Without question, every piece of work is guaranteed. The artist grew up and currently lives on the Lewis and Clark Trail in Mandan, a historic town where the west begins. Planning a career in landscape architecture, Frosty attended the North Dakota State University and took his degree from the University of Michigan. After working in Minneapolis and San Francisco he decided to return to his roots and turn his talents to painting. Over the years Frosty has sold his work in art shows across the country - in more than twenty states. Many wonderful people have purchased Paris paintings. Interacting with customers has motivated Frosty to continue his pursuit of quality paintings of the prairie land. He continues to exhibit his work in his studio, on the Internet and at selected shows. |
 Frosty Paris, Plein-Air painting on the Missouri River in North Dakota CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF PAINTING EN PLEIN-AIR |
| The last glacier
formed the Missouri River, a favorite Paris painting image. The natural water flow of this magnificent and historic marker of the United States is toward the Hudson Bay. However, the glacier forced the water to turn south creating a canyon. Due to the glacier, land north and east of the river is much flatter than land to the south and west. This caused a lot of water to run through semi arid landscape, which created an oasis. Out of this grew a landscape that creates a stimulating visual experience, including tremendous grasses, few trees and a very lush river bottom. These are the elements of the Paris paintings, which capture the river as a highway and a magnet for life. The paintings show this tremendous natural resource as Lewis and Clark found it two hundred years ago and just as it is today. Paris captures this reality with opaque watercolor on linen and paper. Light and its shadows and reflections are very important to Frosty's work. He paints the morning and evening scenes that put a special emphasis on the glow the light puts on plant life and the beautiful Missouri River landscapes. Plein-air (outdoors) painting brings a special effect to the art work |
PUBLICATIONS
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"In Position To
Paint" |
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"Art of the Upper Missouri 2000" A publication of The Bismarck Tribune by KEN ROGERS Quotes about Robert Frost Paris. "Honest detail is an important ingredient in this Mandan artist's landscapes" >Lewis & Clark's River: Capturing a moment. The work that Paris does capturing the river takes on heightened significance during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial years. It looks at that one important thing that brought the explorers to this area: the Missouri River. >Detail does matter Robert Frost Paris knows that the branches of a green ash are opposite each other and that oak limbs alternate. "They (oak limbs) zigzag," Paris said. "That gives it its character. I sat down one day and counted the number of branches. I needed to know the character of the tree. If you know the structure of things, then you know about the land." The land Paris wants to know borders the Missouri River. He studies the river -- its twists and turns, the trees guarding its banks, the runoff-etched sand and clay bluffs, and the grass and brush on the flats and ridges. He knows the shape and form of the river from Bismarck to Fort Peck. He's captured it with pencil and brush. >It is more than meets the eye Knowing, for Paris, or any serious landscape artist, isn't just about trees. It also relates to the way the land was formed. "Drawing on the west side of the river, everything is craggy, and on the east, it's smooth as a baby's face," Paris said, describing the results of the last glacier. "I had to go to the book and read about geology." > Paris isn't mainstream He is the closest that North Dakota has today to a painter looking at the river as Karl Bodmer did more than 160 years ago. He has dedicated himself full-time since the mid-1970s to painting the plains landscapes that he grew up with. Paris uses the knowledge he gained in landscape architecture in painting like Leonardo Divinci used his knowledge of anatomy to paint people. > There is more to it Two other natural elements come into North Dakota landscapes -- wind and water, Paris said. The artist must understand how the water moves through the landscape, flowing from elevation to elevation. "The wind is a stronger element than water, and it makes the grass dominant of the trees," he said. "My first goal is to try to do a really true landscape." > The medium assists the message He changed mediums, as well. "Then I stepped up the scale. Watercolor isn't really able to deal with the color and values on the big river," Paris said. Now he paints on location with watercolor and acrylics on linen and paper. > A passion for a vocation - commitment It started innocently enough, hunting and fishing in the countryside around Mandan. Then, after he returned to North Dakota, he found a spot along the Heart River, south of St. Anthony, where the river follows the road for about six miles, and sketched for a couple of years. He started with watercolors and a black-and-white oriental technique called sumi. Paris's long study of the North Dakota landscape can best be described as a vocation. It's not a hobby. It's what he does. He has spent long hours in the field laboring over drawings. He's painted and painted, year after year. Matted and framed. Traveled the art fair circuit. And stayed ahead just enough to buy more paint and canvas. |
"Art of the Upper Missouri 2000"
A publication of The
Bismarck Tribune
by KEN ROGERS
Quotes about Robert Frost Paris.
"Honest detail is an important ingredient in this
Mandan artist's landscapes"
>Lewis & Clark's River: Capturing a moment.
The work that Paris does capturing the river takes on heightened
significance during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial years. It looks at that
one important thing that brought the explorers to this area: the Missouri
River.
>Detail does matter
Robert Frost Paris knows that the branches of a
green ash are opposite each other and that oak limbs alternate. "They (oak
limbs) zigzag," Paris said. "That gives it its character. I sat down
one day
and counted the number of branches. I needed to know the character of the
tree. If you know the structure of things, then you know about the land."
The land Paris wants to know borders the Missouri River. He studies the
river -- its twists and turns, the trees guarding its banks, the
runoff-etched sand and clay bluffs, and the grass and brush on the flats and
ridges. He knows the shape and form of the river from Bismarck to Fort Peck.
He's captured it with pencil and brush.
>It is more than meets the eye
Knowing, for Paris, or any serious landscape artist, isn't just about trees.
It also relates to the way the land was formed.
"Drawing on the west side of the river, everything is craggy, and on the
east, it's smooth as a baby's face," Paris said, describing the results of
the last glacier. "I had to go to the book and read about geology."
> Paris isn't mainstream
He is the closest that North Dakota has today to a painter looking at the
river as Karl Bodmer did more than 160 years ago. He has dedicated himself
full-time since the mid-1970s to painting the plains landscapes that he grew
up with.
Paris uses the knowledge he gained in landscape architecture in painting
like Leonardo Divinci used his knowledge of anatomy to paint people.
> There is more to it
Two other natural elements come into North Dakota landscapes -- wind and
water, Paris said. The artist must understand how the water moves through
the landscape, flowing from elevation to elevation. "The wind is a
stronger
element than water, and it makes the grass dominant of the trees," he said.
"My first goal is to try to do a really true landscape."
> The medium assists the message
He changed mediums, as well.
"Then I stepped up the scale. Watercolor isn't really able to deal with the
color and values on the big river," Paris said. Now he paints on location
with watercolor and acrylics on linen and paper.
> A passion for a vocation - commitment
It started innocently enough, hunting and fishing in the countryside around
Mandan. Then, after he returned to North Dakota, he found a spot along the
Heart River, south of St. Anthony, where the river follows the road for
about six miles, and sketched for a couple of years. He started with
watercolors and a black-and-white oriental technique called sumi.
Paris's long study of the North Dakota landscape can best be described as
a
vocation. It's not a hobby. It's what he does. He has spent long hours in
the field laboring over drawings. He's painted and painted, year after year.
Matted and framed. Traveled the art fair circuit. And stayed ahead just
enough to buy more paint and canvas.