Earth Day 50: Richard McDaniel and the Russian River

My feature article on Richard McDaniel in the April/May 2020 issue of PleinAir Magazine

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.  Where were you on April 22, 1970?  I'm not sure where I was, but California artist Richard McDaniel was participating in the very first Earth Day exhibition.

I've known Richard for many years now, having first met him while he was teaching a workshop in Maine.  I went to visit him there one afternoon to interview him for a possible book project.  We hit it off and have stayed in touch ever since.

Looking forward to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Richard spent the last three years documenting the Russian River for an exhibition and book project in partnership with Sonoma Land Trust and Sonoma Water.  The project was interrupted several times by natural disasters:

During the three years I was drawing and painting the river, a few major wildfires impacted the area, including my hometown of Santa Rosa. There was widespread damage to the watershed and considerable strain on the people and animals of the region. But the community is strong, and Nature is resilient.

I recently interviewed him for PleinAir Magazine, and in the April/May 2020 feature article, Richard discusses the project.  Several images of over 50 paintings and drawings from the project accompany the article.

Unfortunately, another natural disaster - the novel coronavirus - has interrupted the project, delaying both the exhibition and the publication of the book.  Like many of us artists who are also affected by the pandemic, Richard is carrying on and looking forward to the day the exhibition and book will become a reality.   I'm looking forward to seeing both.

Laguna de Santa Rosa in a Rainstorm 

oil, 30x47, 2013 

from The Russian River and its Watershed 

My Article on Painting Snow -- and Painting IN the Snow!

The article in PleinAir Magazine. 
Featured here are two paintings by Marc Dalessio. 
(Digital screenshot, since I get only the digital version of the magazine.)

My latest article, "What to Know About Painting Snow," appears in the current (Feb/Mar 2019) issue of PleinAir Magazine.  Apparently, with this week's monstrous winter storm hitting the north, the article is timely.  I've already had one reader write to me to say:  "The article was very inspiring; I've ordered a yard full."

In the article, I offer my own tips on painting snow, based on my wintertime experiences in the Canadian Maritimes as well as in the high desert of New Mexico.  But I also interviewed several other artists of note:  T.M. Nicholas, Barbara Jaenicke, Marc Dalessio, Chuck Marshall, T.J. Cunningham, D.F. Gray, Lynn Boggess and Carol Strock Wasson.  Thank you to all the artists who gave me such valuable information.

One thing to note about the magazine is that, in addition to the print version, it offers an "expanded digital" version.  The digital version has many more images that you won't find in the print version.

Here are the images of mine that are included in the article.

Snow on Shiprock 6x12 Oil by Michael Chesley Johnson
Collection the Artist

Lake Snow 10x12 Oil by Michael Chesley Johnson
Collection the Artist

Study for "By the Bridge" 12x9 Oil by Michael Chesley Johnson
Private Collection

By the Bridge 30x24 Oil by Michael Chesley Johnson
Private Collection

Podcast Interview with Eric Rhoads, Publisher of PleinAir Magazine

If you've been following PleinAir Magazine and OutdoorPainter.com, you're probably already familiar with their ongoing series of podcasts of interviews with painters.  But if not, you should know about it -- partly because I was recently interviewed by Eric Rhoads, publisher of the magazine and founder of the Plein Air Convention.

Although I'm very comfortable with talking in front of an audience--I do it all the time, and some of the audiences are quite large--doing a radio interview was much different.  But Eric is an experienced interviewer, and he quickly put me at ease.  I think you'll enjoy hearing it.

If you can't see the video at the top of this page, here is a link to the podcast:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jue19FzYqDs

Links You Need to Know About

Quiet Cove 12x16 Oil
Featured in my first demonstration for my website

One of my projects this year is to put up several demonstrations on my web site.  These demonstrations are free, and they will show you some of the techniques and methods I use, both in the studio and out.  You can bookmark the link below and check back regularly to see the latest demonstrations:

http://www.mchesleyjohnson.com/demonstrations/

My first demonstration, "Study to Studio," shows how I take field studies and use them as a reference for finished studio paintings.  The painting above is featured in this one.

Lake in the Desert 9x12 Pastel
Small painting featured on my website

If you like small paintings, you should know that I regularly post small sketches and studies, all reasonably priced, on my website as well.  These are different from my larger, studio pieces that you'll find on the website.  This is a link that you can follow through a blog reader or news reader such as Feedly.  Here's the link you need:

http://www.mchesleyjohnson.com/small-paintings/

Blue Boat 12x16 Pastel
Demonstration painting for my article in Pastel Journal as noted below

Finally, Artists Network occasionally posts some of my magazine articles from Pastel Journal and The Artist's Magazine for free.  Again, these are free articles, complete and exactly as they appear in the magazine.  Here's one they posted today, which is about limiting pastel palettes as a way of controlling color harmony:

http://www.artistsnetwork.com/medium/pastel/limited-pastel-palette-hack

Enjoy!

Greens for the Oil Painter - Plus a Workshop Review!

Looking for green this Saint Patrick's Day?  I'm pleased to announce that The Artist's Magazine
as made my Brushing Up article on greens for the oil painter available as a free download.  The article appears in the June 2017 issue, but you can also download and read the article here:

http://media2.fwpublications.com/TAM/GoingGreen_June17TheArtistsMagazine.pdf

I've had a lot of fun writing these articles over the years, and I've learned a lot while writing them, too.  Gamblin Artists Colors and Product Manager (and artist!) Scott Gellatly have been very helpful in making these articles possible.  This is the latest in my series of colors for the oil painter.  My final article on the topic will come out in October.  Can you guess what color it's about?

Last week, I had artist Nelia Harper in my Sedona workshop.  Nelia has published a great write-up on the week on her blog.  Reading it will give you a good sense of what my workshops are like.  You can read her blog post here.  Thank you, Nelia!

#theartistsmagazine #gamblincolors #gamblin #pleinairpainting

Sizzling Reds in The Artist's Magazine

My article on reds for the oil painter, "Sizzling Reds," is in the latest issue of The Artist's Magazine.  I had a lot of fun writing this article and creating the demonstration paintings.  What I am most proud of, however, are the test swatches!  I sampled fifteen different reds with regard to masstone, undertone and tints and learned a lot about how each of these reds work.  (All the paints were courtesy of Gamblin Artists Colors.)

Get the June 2015 issue and look for "Brushing Up:  Sizzling Reds."  If it's not out just yet, it will  be, soon!