Betsey Nelson - End Of The Day

Betsey Nelson-End Of The Day 7x5 $230
After a day of doing larger paintings it is nice to just quickly do a nice fluid small painting.
The thing is to keep it simple but strong.

Vince Fazio "A Sedona Morning"

"A Sedona Morning" 6 x 9.25 oil on board $85

This was a quick plein air painting at one of those spots you see as you are driving around and then have to find the closest place you can paint from that is not in the middle of the road. Sedona is one of those places that really wants to be portrayed a bit panoramic.
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Betsey Nelson - Boat Study Plein Air

Betsey Nelson - Boat Study Plein Air 8x10 oil on panel $460
This study along with a photograph gives me enough information to do a studio painting. The studio painting would be a different size and having all this information would allow me to play with the painting and create another painting. I find I am unable to just create a larger version of the original I keep asking myself what's the point? But to take the information and create a new painting would challenge and interest me.

Betsey Nelson - Horse study

Betsey Nelson - Horse Study oil 9x12 NFS

As a participant in the recent Sedona Plein Air festival i had an opportunity to teach two workshops and talk with some established artist as well as beginning artists and all levels in between. I think the most common misconception that I discovered is that the less experienced artists all thought that reworking or continuing work on either a workshop piece or one of their past pieces was a good idea. All the experienced artists agree that this is a BAD idea a much better idea (with some exceptions of course) is to do another painting. Not all attempts are going to work and usually it is a much better idea to try again either with the same landscape or still life etc. or even an entirely new subject. The idea is the more you paint the more you learn and those ones that work should start to become more frequent. Everyone no matter what their skill level will create bad paintings once in awhile, and more often if they are commited to growing as a painter.

This study was just a search for information on how to paint a horse from life what to look for in the horse and the normal painting relationships i think all good paintings should have. When i had gotten that information i stopped. The study stands on its own as a study and for use when i need to do a painting.

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

Betsey Nelson- Head Study II

Betsey Nelson 12x10 $360

This is a second head study done of the same man in Head Study I (see earlier blog posting). Again same principles apply just a more "finished" study. But does it say anymore than the other?

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

Michael Chesley Johnson - East Quoddy Morning

We have three lighthouses within a few minutes of my studio. Although some artists eschew the idea of painting lighthouses as being too cute, there's a lot that can be done with them. I chose the East Quoddy Lighthouse (also known as the Head Harbour Lightstation) to do an early morning study of light on a white structure.

It's a lonely-looking lighthouse, isn't it?


"East Quoddy Morning"
5x7, oil, en plein air
$60+$5 shipping
www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Michael Chesley Johnson - Four Values

In my outdoor workshops, I teach John F. Carlson's concept of rendering the landscape in four values. Typically, the darkest darks will be uprights, such as trees; the mid-darks will be slanted surfaces, such as hills; the mid-lights will be flat surfaces, such as meadows; and the lightest lights will be in the sky.

I ran into a situation the other day that exemplified this concept almost perfectly. Rather than slanted surfaces as the mid-darks, I had a distant, befogged treeline. The value of the treeline is close to that of the meadow, but still a bit lighter. You can see clearly how I've broken up the landscape into big, simple shapes and have kept my four values well-separated.



"So Quiet" - Michael Chesley Johnson
9x12, oil, en plein air
$175 (unframed) + $5 shipping

www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Desert Colors 6" x 8"

Cody DeLong
Oil on canvas panel, 6"x8" $250
This was a scene off of Bill Grey road, I had been tracking a herd antelope in the area and finally got a photo of one that I wanted before they ran off over a hill. I looked to the south and saw this scene, it was kind of stormy that day and I had to hurry to capture the light effects but I think I pulled it off. It reminds me of that special day every time I look at it.

A Sliver of Light

Cody DeLong Oil on Panel, 6" x 8" $200.
This is a plein air painting done along the Verde River. The light was fading fast which forced me to paint quickly and to just go for the essentials. I like the brushwork, especially in the bushes and in the water.