Randy Clemens has played his music all over the country, but he's most at home in this little corner of Oklahoma City.

Being an artist and enjoying art, I was drawn to this area once again.

And as you can see, if, people come to the Paseo, they'll, see that there is a resurgence on this street.

The street gets a little bit longer all the time.

We get a few more artists and it's.

What can I say?

It's, it's the hippest place in Oklahoma City's.

Few would argue with Clemens take on the neighborhood.

It covers only a couple of blocks just north of downtown Oklahoma City is.

It is a place where musicians are free to explore the boundaries of their creativity, and where artists can do the same.

Their studios and their galleries are open to anyone who wants to drop in.

It's special here.

The people that walk in, there, people are just when you get when they get on the we call it Paseo time, you get on Paseo Street and it kind of everything changes and people are more open and they're not mad at their job or, you know, all the things that go on in life.

And, it kind of is, a special feeling on the street.

I think there are very few people on the street who would close their studio to the point that I would ever say, no, you know, I don't want you to know anything of what I'm doing, what we say is, come in, we'll show you our process.

We'll talk about it.

You know, there are classes taught, and and it's an engagement for people.

And then an expansion of ideas.

That's certainly how artist David Irwin looks at it.

He's not afraid to share his ideas and his creativity with anyone wanting to learn.

There is an energy to that.

And, you know, that's why I want to keep teaching.

Because.

Because I feed off that, too.

And been able to, to help somebody, further their getting into into the art, is, you know, it's a lot of payments.

I mean, that's makes me feel rich.

That's more important to me, probably, than being rich.

Is that feeling this the only district in Oklahoma.

It's the only true arts district in Oklahoma that has that quality, where you can find the artists in their work and their studios and their gallery all at the same place, visiting with each other.

They're mutually supportive and mutually thankful.

That attorney turned art lover John Belt had a wild haired idea to buy most of this block in the late 70s, when it was about to be turned into warehouse space.

Back then, Paseo was just another rundown street on the Near North side of town, but John Belt thought it could be so much more.

So he bought the buildings before another businessman could.

I introduce myself and told him, Mr.

Green, I'm your new neighbor.

I've just bought this property up the street from you and he says, the hell you have.

Oh, oh, I said, Mr.

Green, I have, and I really just want to be a good neighbor.

I'm not trying to hurt your business.

I know you need space and that sort of thing.

I just don't believe this lovely little street needs to be turned into warehouse.

John Belt saw potential in the design of the buildings and in the way the street curves.

He offered to lease Mr.

Green some space in the backs of the buildings.

I never got a lease property from you he says.

Oh okay.

I said.

Well, that's our screen.

I just want to be a good neighbo I'll buy your property from you if you'd like to sell it.

And he said, I'm not going to show you my property.

But a few months later he did, and all of a sudden John Belt owned a neighborhood.

A half century earlier, famed Oklahoma City developer G.A.

Nichols, the man who built Nichols Hills, thought the people who lived and worked in downtown Oklahoma City needed a convenient but somewhat out of the way place to go shopping.

It was Nichols who designed the Spanish style buildings and gave the area its distinctive look.

In the late 30s and 40s, the neighborhood prospered.

Oklahoma City restaurateur Luis Alvarado built one of his famous El Cerrito Mexican restaurants in the Paseo, and when John Bell saw these Alvarado family home movies on another recent episode of gallery, he recognized right there in the background, one of the buildings he bought and was trying to refurbish in these movies.

He saw it the way it was and the way he wanted it to be.

Again.

This one right here he is remodeling it to turn it into individual art studios.

When he began buying property here, he also had an idea about what to do with it.

The street was ready for a new career, and we decided that career was going to be as an arts district.

And, so that's what we did, and that's what's happened over the years, I think.

I think artists have always been attracted to the area, just because of the nature of the, the, the eclectic nature of the neighborhood, the the small studios and apartments that are available.

Tom Lee is a fine art photographer specializing in black and white film work.

My photography, is, about a lot of light and shadows texture.

I shoot a lot of, landscapes, nudes and portraits.

I, I really like the process of of of making the art, the, composing the picture, taking the photograph, printing it, framing it, the whole the whole process.

Tom is also now the president of the Paseo Artists Association.

His studio is hard to miss.

It used to be a church in Canada.

I found this on the internet, and, the size was good.

About 1000ft².

The light turned out to be phenomenal.

I thought with all these big windows, it would have really good light.

And plus it was, something unusual and different.

And, I'm always attracted to that.

That difference, that special feeling is what drew him to the Paseo in the first place.

The spirit of art, I think, has always been down here.

Some some places just have that, that feel, you know, why is Santa Fe an art community and not Albuquerque?

It, you know, why do certain places evolve that way and others don't?

It's just, I think, some places just kind of have that, draw for artist in the Paseo does that for Oklahoma City as its reputation and its population of artists grows, the Paseo family likes to showcase what it does best art.

The first Friday and Saturday of every month, the artists open their studios for what's called the Gallery Walk, and that's a good time for the public to come down and tour all the galleries.

A lot of times these are working studios.

The artists may be in the back working on a painting or a project, and, you know, the front door may not be open, but on the first Friday and Saturday of each month, there are we make an effort to get everybody's studio open so you can walk around and, go from one studio to other.

Where else could you go in the city or the state and see that much variety in two blocks.

It's not just a great place to see art and watch the artists create it.

It's also a place where you can learn how to do it, too a place where the creators like to share their creativity.

We frequently will have families who bring their high school art student down to talk to an artist, or we have art students in town who shadows and, that hands on, you know, involving yourself in the process is so important.

And it's available right here.

So everything we do is one of a kind.

These are basically our paintings.

And these days we call these wearables or wearable art or art where, you know, there's a mixed bag.

A lot of these kids haven't been to the Paseo before, and it just really opens their eyes to see that, you've got a whole community of artists, you know, doing what they love to do, and making a living at it, whether it's painting or sculpturing or pottery.

It's just, I think it's really nice for the kids to come down and see all that, whether they become artist or not.

It helps them to know that, these outlets are available.

I learned how to paint silk using different techniques in every gallery, every studio.

Every artist is willing to share the knowledge that makes their work special.

It is the tie that binds this community together.

All the artists here and there are many artists on the street.

And we're desirous of, commercial success.

But I don't think that that is the bottom line.

This street is supposed to be about something, bigger than money.

Freedom of of expression, verbally.

Artistically.

And for me, that's, that's the best of what the street represents.

It is a place where you can come and buy or just browse.

Whether you're interested in the eclectic mix of art and artists most of the street has to offer.

Or even fine art like you can find here at the J.R.B Gallery.

It also features prominent Oklahoma artists like this from DJ Lapham.

J.R.B.

Gallery, incidentally, is owned by the man who started the entire art movement down here.

That lawyer turned art lover, John Bell.

Yes, you can meet interesting people here.

And by the end of the day, discover all the diversity this place called the Paseo has to offer.

It has a quality where you can visit with the artists and be perfectly at home.

Very nice.

It's becoming what we had wanted it to be.