Authentically Human! Not Written by AI!
All Content Copyright © Michael Chesley Johnson AIS PSA MPAC

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Outing with the Group and an Upcoming Road Trip


The other weekend, I met my plein air painting group for a few hours of painting Sedona's red rocks.  Our location, one of my favorites, gave us a spectacular, panoramic view of Munds Mountain and other nameless crags.  As you can see from the photo, it was a sunny Arizona day, and what with the days getting longer and the sun, higher, I tend to seek shade.  (I am not in this particular photo.)  I managed to eek out some by a little scrub oak.  I'm also trying to remember the sun block now, too.

Here's my painting:  Red Rock Rising, 9x12 oil.  For this one, I was trying my best to capture color exactly the way I saw it.  I steered clear of my usual expressionistic color-mixing.  What was my reason for this?  Sometimes it just feels good to try to get it exactly right.

Red Rock Rising, 9x12 oil


By the way, next week I will be journeying to Palm Springs, California.  Albert Handell, who has become a good friend, asked me to join Jeanine and him at his mentoring workshop.  I've not been there before, but by all accounts, I should expect some beautiful scenery.  (Albert wrote this article on painting palm trees, which I need to read before I leave.)  Weather is forecast for sunny and warm, so I won't be taking the parka.  Although I plan to paint from sunrise to sundown, I'll do my best to keep up my blog!