Michael Chesley Johnson - Autumn Splendor

In my mind, there's nothing finer than painting in the autumn. I love to be out on a warm afternoon when the grasshoppers are singing their last songs and the sun sets a golden fire in the fields. This week, I went to one of my favorite wet areas, a marsh near Eagle Hill Bog, to paint the marsh grasses. The trick was to make the grasses incandescent. I kept the shadowed parts of the grasses red and warm, warmer than the sunlit tops, and then made sure the highlights on the tops were the brightest extreme in the painting.

"Autumn Splendor" 8x10, oil, en plein air

$150+$5 shipping

www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Michael Chesley Johnson - Salt Marsh Overcast

Lately, I've been trying a new approach with my oil paintings. I've been using oil pastel for my initial block-in and then washing over it with mineral spirits to create an underpainting before applying traditional oil paints. Why? I find I can control the drawing better with oil pastel. And what's more, if you don't cover the underpainting completely, some of the wonderful "scribbly" marks will show through and energize the final surface.

I must warn you about oil pastels, though. They contain a non-drying vegetable oil. You must use enough mineral spirits to dissolve and wash out this oil so the following layers of traditional oil paints adhere properly.

Here's a recent painting I did this way. I like the way my underpainting shows through.

"Salt Marsh Overcast" 9x12, oil/oil pastel

$300+$10 shipping

www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

- Michael Chesley Johnson PSA MPAC PSNM

Journey to England:5

Libby Caldwell, Oil on Canvas, 5 x 7 SOLD

Journal entry 5: July 2008.
The garden in the afternoon. The roses were at their best about a week ago, so they tell me. I remember this maple tree when it was about as tall as me, now it shades a large area around the summer house.

Journey to England:3

Libby Caldwell, Oil on Canvas, 9 x 12 SOLD

Journal entry 3: July 2008.
A country road in Norfolk. I had forgotten how lovely the hedgerows are, and how dramatic the skies can be; so I watch as the clouds shuffle and heave themselves around the sky, manipulating sunlight against thunder, pinks against dark blues and then glimmers of white try to rise, then subside and then have another chance and through an opening the sun illuminates a patchwork below...of fields, hedgerows, trees, roads and almost and then a dulling as clouds gather once more.

Journey to England:2

Libby Caldwell, Oil on Panel, 9 x 12 NFS.

Journal entry 2: July 2008.
Heathrow Airport Train Station, London, England. The blue lighting against the wall of the tunnel makes it look like an aquarium, it's mesmerizing. I intend to travel light next time, my luggage is overwhelming the joy of traveling at this point.

Journey to England:1

Libby Caldwell, Oil on Panel, 9 x 12 NFS

Journal entry 1: July 2008.
On my way to England. The flight has been uneventful so far. I'm looking out of the window now and clouds appear to have formed what looks like a kingdom in the sky, and the sunlight seems to be beckoning us homeward or at least reassuring us as we pass by. There is a gap in the clouds, exposing a shocking contrast of dark, gloomy land.

Playing in the Sand

Libby Caldwell, Oil on Canvas, 11 x 14, $255
In this painting I wanted to capture the simple joy this little girl experienced from playing in the wet sand. The composition needed to be uncomplicated, and I used just 3 colors and white.