Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Michael Chesley Johnson - Tubac Orchard

What captured my eye in this scene was the sense of calm. The picture is full of horizontals - the plane of the ground, the roof of the adobe house, the line of trees. Even the large shape of the mountain in the background can be "averaged out" to be a flat band of color. However, its long, wave-like curve adds a sense of movement to the design to keep it from being too static.
I like the fall grasses in the foreground. Here, I laid the pastel on thickly, so much so that the tooth filled completely. The final stick of pastel slid around like a pat of butter in a hot skillet.


"Tubac Orchard"9x12, pastel, en plein air
Michael Chesley Johnson

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