A Plein Air Painter's Blog

2011 in review

pleinairman — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:50:29 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Funny thing is, this isn’t even my full blog! I rarely post to WordPress, preferring instead to post to my Google Blogger blog: http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.com/

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 28 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Waves and Robinson Jeffers

pleinairman — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:43:30 +0000

We plein air painters, especially the ones who try to make a living of it, are sometimes too focussed in our interests. It’s like a diet of all chocolate – addictive, nourishing in its own way, but maybe too much of a good thing. Well, here’s a little fiber for you. I want to introduce the poet Robinson Jeffers.

Jeffers was a popular poet back before World War II. He built a home in Carmel out of stones he hauled up from the beach. During the war, he fell from favor because he was against it. But lately he’s experiencing a revival as a poet for environmentalists. He was very much grounded in nature and the landscape, which is why I recommend him to painters. If Jeffers had been a painter, he probably would have been a plein air painter.

We took a tour of a home he built in Carmel – Tor House – and its accompanying tower, Hawk Tower. Tours are given only on Fridays and Saturdays, with no more than six people. The house and tower are very special, because they have all of the original furnishings and in the spot Jeffers left them. It’s amazing to see the tower, which Jeffers built singlehandedly. The tower had a room for him to write in, a room for his wife Una to hang out in – she had asked him to build the tower for her – and a room for the twins to play in.

We’ve been having some beautiful swells and crashing waves these last couple of days. I’ve taken lots of photos and even some video of the waves. (The best way for a painter to get a good shot of a wave for painting is to take a video and then step through the frames to find the one frame that has the best wave.) With that in mind, here’s a poem Jeffers wrote about waves.

November Surf

Some lucky day each November great waves awake
and are drawn
Like smoking mountains bright from the west
And come and cover the cliff with white violent cleanness:
then suddenly
The old granite forgets half a year’s filth:
The orange-peel, egg-shells, papers, pieces of clothing,
the clots
Of dung in corners of the rock, and used
Sheaths that make light love safe in the evenings: all
the droppings of the summer
Idlers washed off in a winter ecstasy:
I think this cumbered continent envies its cliff then….
But all seasons
The earth, in her childlike prophetic sleep,
Keeps dreaming of the bath of a storm that prepares up
the long coast
Of the future to scour more than her sea-lines:
The cities gone down, the people fewer and the hawks
more numerous,
The rivers mouth to source pure; when the two-footed
Mammal, being someways one of the nobler animals, regains
The dignity of room, the value of rareness.

Just as a reminder, my studio painting sale continues for a little while longer. I’m posting sketches and demos daily. If you would, please check it out at my studio store where you can see the full list of what’s available – http://johnsonstudiostore.blogspot.com/

APAA Pastel Workshop – and a Painting Retreat

pleinairman — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:24:28 +0000

Look closely to see the student at the bottom!

This past Saturday I taught a one-day plein air pastel workshop for the Arizona Pastel Artists Association. One of the problems with large plein air workshops is finding adequate backup space. Even if the weather is predicted to be perfect, the forecasts themselves aren’t necessarily perfect. So, you need a backup space. This space is also handy for lectures and critiques. We found a great space at Crescent Moon Day Use Area, right under the feet of Catheral Rock. We had our very own group picnic shelter and restrooms.

For this day, they weren’t forecasting perfect weather. In fact, they were predicting clouds and showers. The morning started somewhat ominous. As I drove toward Sedona, I saw heavy-bellied clouds dropping showers over Bear Mountain and the Mogollon Rim. But we ended up having a great day. The sun broke out and shed a warm light on Cathedral Rock. Beautiful, puffy clouds ornamented the blue sky. We got some really nice paintings out of the day.

One of my demos, a 5×7

I want to announce a special painting retreat for the week of March 26th. This program is only for intermediate to advanced painters or professionals. Participants are expected to be comfortable with painting outdoors and their chosen medium. Painters may work in any medium, but I’ll be working in oil or pastel.

For the retreat, group lodging is included that has cooking facilities so participants may make their own meals. Artists are expected to stay at the lodging to ensure an “immersion” experience in which painting is talked about in casual conversation, and impromptu demonstrations, outings or group critiques may result.

This is not a workshop with formal instruction, but I’ll demonstrate daily and offer end-of-the-day critiques. I’ll also guide you to some of Sedona’s prime painting spots.

Price is $1000, which includes six nights lodging (arrive Sunday, depart Saturday). Food is not included, but we’ll have a kitchen. The retreat is limited to four participants. (Spouses and non-painting partners may be included, depending on the lodging.) If you’re interested, please let me know right away. I need to have four committed by Thanksgiving in order to secure space. I hope you’ll join us!

Recent Plein Air Painting Workshop in St Andrews, New Brunswick

pleinairman — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:22:51 +0000

Teaching Schedule - http://www.michaelchesleyjohnson.com/html/schedule.htm

Paint Sedona workshops – http://www.paintsedona.com/

Paint Campobello workshops - http://www.paintcampobello.com/

Also, the REAL blog, where I post regularly: http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.com/

I’m back from a week in lovely St Andrews-by-the-Sea, a little oceanfront resort town that’s located in a quiet nook of New Brunswick in the Canadian Maritimes. The weather was typical of the Maritimes – sunny, warm days interspersed with a scattering of moody, wet times – but everyone had a great time and got some good paintings. This was my sixth summer teaching for Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre, and I’m looking forward to another week in 2012.

Below, I’ve included a couple of the pastel demos I did; I’ll post some of the oil demos later, once they dry a bit more.

I had a good turnout for my reception at Sunbury Shores. Comments were very favorable for the new work I’ve been doing, especially the large pieces. We even sold some work! The show is up until September 7. If you’re in the area, please stop by: www.sunburyshores.org.

Here are some photos from the week, plus the pastel demos.

Two Pastels from Last Week

pleinairman — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 20:28:19 +0000

I thought I’d post a couple of the pastels I did in the last week or so. The first one, “Banjo Bill Morning,” was done about seven miles up Oak Creek Canyon, early in the day. Although spring is quickening in Sedona – the mulberries are blooming – it’s slow in coming further up the canyon. You can still see some of the late-winter browns and yellows. Still, there’s a bit of green starting to show up in the water, thanks to the intense sun.

The second one, “Mitten Ridge View,” was painted at one of my favorite spots. I’ve shared Schnebly Hill with many students and painters. This is a somewhat different view, looking at Mitten Ridge over a small canyon.

This week, now that the workshops are done for a bit, I’m spending time in the studio getting re-organized. Today I went through my pastel stock and refreshed my Heilman “backpack” box; poured the Gamsol out of the brush washer so I could scrape out and discard the mud at the bottom; and took an inventory of paint, panels and pastel paper. I think I’m going to be in good shape.

Visit http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.com for all my blog posts.

Painting the Cottages – Summary

pleinairman — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:14:00 +0000

Yesterday, we had beautiful sunshine. I took a large 18×24 stretched canvas out to the field and began to paint more lupines. I really wanted to work on a larger version of the lupines I’ve been painting recently. After about two hours and my block-in, the clouds rolled in and the light changed. I figure I’m about halfway through and will return when the sun comes back tomorrow.

Now that I’ve painted the Roosevelt Park cottages, I thought it would be instructive to show them again all at once and to discuss why I made certain choices. They’re at the bottom of this post. You’ll notice I used two different formats, a panoramic one and a square one.

For the cottages that were well-sited with a view, a panorama was a no-brainer. For ones that were closed in with trees or had a small lot, I chose the square. The Wells-Shober cottage was problematic. I couldn’t back up far enough to present the whole building properly. Instead, I chose to focus on the abstract quality of the close-up. The Hubbard cottage had another problem, but problems sometimes open opportunities. The view I had wanted to paint was blocked by a service truck, but this forced me to choose another angle, and so I discovered the view with a truly beautiful, giant red maple. Later I went back to the view I had wanted to paint originally, and again chose a square format to emphasize the abstract quality of the architecture.

Since I originally photographed these paintings, I made some minor adjustments in the studio. The adjustments were limited to softening or strengthening an edge or knocking down brushstrokes. The new photographs are also more accurate with color.

By the way, I did not type this post today but actually dictated it to my computer. Yes, I spoke my post. I’m using Dragon Naturally Speaking. Dictating is harder than you’d think. I’m a natural typist and very comfortable with making quick, off-the-cuff corrections in Microsoft Word. Trying to speak coherently, logically and grammatically, all the while trying to issue voice command corrections, is a skill that must be learned. Believe it or not, this is a lot harder than extemporaneous speaking!

“Red Maple, Hubbard Cottage” 12×24, oil – $1500

“Hubbard Cottage” 12×12, oil – $850

“Mr Roosevelt’s House” 12×24, oil – $1500

“Prince Cottage” 12×24, oil – $1500

“Wells-Shober Cottage” 12×12, oil – $850

Painting Lupines

pleinairman — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:23:00 +0000

Lilacs are giving way to lupines, and so we enter lupine season. If you had to present only one image emblematic of Downeast Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, it would have lupines in it. I’ve seen species of lupines in Arizona and New Mexico, but nothing compares with the ones we have here. They are a beautiful flower, and you’d think they’d look good on your dinner table, but alas! They don’t last long as cut flowers.

In the field, we’ll have them only until the end of June, if that. So, when the weather is good, it’s important to hustle. Yesterday, I was torn between mowing the lawn – we are almost at the point of needing a machete – and painting lupines. I decided I could do both, if I painted a small one and didn’t take too long.

“Lupines, Friar’s Bay I” 6×8, oil – $100 – contact Michael

Today, I got out early to catch them in the morning sun. I decided to do a square format for this one, and I wanted to nearly fill the canvas with them.

What colors does one need for lupines? In the 6×8, I used my basic Gamblin palette. Nothing special, just a cool and a warm version of the three primaries. In the 12×12, though, I added two colors: Thalo Red Rose and Dioxazine Purple (both Grumbacher paints.) When you’re painting florals, you can’t mix the clean, rich secondaries – you need to use tubed color.

“Lupines, Friar’s Bay II” 12×12, oil

And More Cottages! Wells-Shober

pleinairman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:58:00 +0000

“Wells-Shober Cottage” 12×12, oil

Did my last post say that the Roosevelt cottage at the Roosevelt-Campobello International Park is the ultimate challenge? I think I was wrong. Today I painted the Wells-Shober cottage, and I have to say it was even more of a challenge. The issue is the corner porch, which is circular, and the room at the corner, which is also circular! I chose to paint the cottage in a square format (12×12), which forced me to zoom in on the cottage to get a workable composition. As you can see, this minimizes the curve. It’s still there, but because you’re looking at a small portion of it, it’s not as noticeable – just as you don’t notice the curve of the earth.

This painting also has a cool light source. As I was painting, a thin fog ran overhead, cooling the sunlight. This made, to me, the shadows seem warm. I even pushed the warmth a bit by putting Cadmium Red Light into the shadows. I pushed the cool of the sunlit whites by using Phthalo Green.

By the way, for those of you who are interested, I have a new video series out for the plein air painter. Prices for downloading episodes start at 99¢. For more information, please visit my web site: http://www.michaelchesleyjohnson.com/html/book.htm

More Cottages – Roosevelt Cottage

pleinairman — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:50:00 +0000

“Mr Roosevelt’s House” 12×24, oil

Morning dawned clear and cold, so I knew I’d have good weather for a morning session at the Roosevelt-Campobello International Park. After several days of painting Victorian cottages, I felt I was ready for the ultimate challenge – the cottage that Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt lived in during their summers on the island.

The Roosevelt cottage is different from all the others for two reasons. First, it’s painted red, not white. Second, the architecture is, in some ways, more barn-like than cottage-like. But it’s an impressive structure with some very daunting fenestration. (Visit http://fdr.net/roosevelt-cottage to read the story of the cottage and to see some photos.) I chose an angle that was a bit different from the one tourists photograph, and I like the way the building is foreshortened and looks less barn-like.

As with the last cottage, I spent most of my session working on the drawing and placement of features. It didn’t take long to color in the shapes. At the end, I had enough information on the panel to finish up in the studio.

By the way, for the shadowed reds of the cottage, I did a block-in with mostly Alizarin Crimson and a bit of Phthalo Green and Chromatic Black. At the end, I pulled out my secret weapon – Grumbacher’s Thalo Red Rose. I laid this on top of the underpainting right from the tube to enrich the color. I also used a bit of it, mixed with a great deal of white, for the red in the Canadian flag in the back yard.

Finally, don’t forget my eBay auction of small sketches. To see them, go to eBay and search on “Michael Chesley Johnson” or follow this link.

Break from the Cottage Series

pleinairman — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:01:00 +0000

“Cut Field Colors” 12×12, oil

This is a 12×12 I did last week before I started painting the cottages. I had limited time that afternoon, but my front field was so lovely with color after having it brush-hogged that I wanted to capture it before it turned green again. I spent about 30 minutes on this piece, using a very big brush and letting the paint do its own thing. It’s a very loose piece, and I love the brush work.

I was going to paint another cottage today, but the weather was against me. So, what’s one of the things a plein air painter does in that case? Why, go through some of his sketches to see where he’s been. I pulled out several that I thought some of you might like to have and am putting them up on eBay. Students or other artists often like to get a small piece to see first-hand how a painter works.

These are all oil, and some of them were quick, and others were more studied. There’s a good variety of both subject and technique. Trina has helped me put up a few today, and there will be more to come if this works. To see the listings, go to eBay and search on “Michael Chesley Johnson” or follow this link.

You can also go to pleinairpainterman’s store: http://shop.ebay.com/pleinairpainterman/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25