Large Paintings

"Cut Field" 12x24, oil

I've got a month before I teach my first workshop, so my goal in the next four weeks is to paint as many large paintings as I can. Typically with workshops, I do smaller pieces so I can quickly get them to a certain "finish" for the students. (Folks get a bit antsy if you make a habit of doing four-hour demos!) I do have some 18x24 canvases in stock, so I'll be getting to those shortly.

In the meantime, though, I did a 12x24 yesterday. I wanted to paint some views with a larger span, because lately I've been finding the more standard proportions limiting. We just brush-hogged the front field down to our tallest spruce, and it has opened up some good possibilities for the summer. In this painting, I really wanted to give a sense of the breadth of the property, so I included a good swath. It's really a lovely time of year with the apple trees blooming and all those "spring greens."

Acadia Invitational II

As some of you know, I've been in the studio the past few weeks working on some pieces for the upcoming Acadia Invitational II exhibition in Bar Harbor, Maine. Yesterday, Trina and I delivered three pieces to the Argosy Gallery, which is hosting the show.

Argosy invited 30 artists from across the US (and me in Canada) to paint scenes from Mount Desert Island, which is where Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are located. This is not a "wet paint" event; artists were asked to submit finished pieces that were either started during or inspired by a visit to MDI. Each artist was asked for three pieces, and I'm looking forward to seeing them. It's an impressive list of artists, and includes such luminaries as W. Jason Situ, Elizabeth Tolley and T.M. Nicholas.

There is no end of gorgeous scenery to paint on MDI, and each year, I enjoy teaching my workshop there and sharing some of the locations with students. Over the years, I've done a lot of painting and also photography in an effort to capture the variety of moods and the magic of MDI. Yesterday, after dropping off my paintings, I did more photography and tried to capture some of the spring greens that now quilt the hills.

The show opens with a reception on August 7th at the Bar Harbor Inn, which will display the paintings for two days before moving them to the Argosy II location just off the town green. I'll have more information on time, etc., soon.

Below are my three paintings. One of them you've already seen in a previous post, but I thought I'd post it again.

"Ready for the Season (Bernard Harbor)" 9x12, oil

"Clear Day, Bernard Harbor" 12x16, oil

"Clear Evening, Jordan Pond" 11x14, oil

Renovated Web Site

Every couple of years, I try to give my web site a makeover. Sometimes it's not "extreme" so much as just a spritz or two of air freshener. This time, I did a little sweeping and dusting and even gave it a fresh coat of paint. I'd love for you to take a look. Please let me know if I missed a cobweb or two. It's at www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com.

These days, what with the more dynamic style of Facebook and blogs, it's easy to forget about that old 20th century bit of technology, the static web site. It takes more effort, to be sure, to update it. But I think it's always good to freshen it up. It can be a good online portfolio for potential galleries and collectors, and if it's not kept current, it might hurt you rather than help you.

By the way, here's a studio painting I did this week. "Clear Day, Bernard Harbor" 12x16, oil. The painting is warmer than it looks in this photo, especially in the foreground, where I used a lot of Transparent Earth Red for the shadows.

Studio Fear

"The Lucy B" 12x16, oil/canvas

For a die-hard plein air painter, I must admit that the prospect of going to the studio to paint dredges up a certain amount of fear.

Outdoors, I feel my success ratio is pretty good. I can make an exciting painting. But in the studio, without a real landscape to respond to, where will the excitement come from? One can rely on coffee and jazzy music only so much. (Lately, I've been listening to Neil Young's "Fork in the Road" album.)

I've been painting from my laptop this week. It's different, though not necessarily better, than painting from a printed photograph. My photographs are 4x6, so I see less detail. Less detail, during the abstract, block-in stage of the painting, is a benefit. I can also hold the photograph in my hand and, if I get paint on it, who cares? With the laptop, I can zoom in on detail - a benefit during the final stages - but I sure don't want to spill Gamsol on the keyboard or get Phthalo Blue on the screen. I also have a good deal of light flooding the studio, and on my older laptop, the screen gets washed out. You always hear that the laptop has a more brilliant image than a photo, and that may be true in a room with less light. For me, the real advantage of the laptop is the ability to adjust color and create a photo-collage from several references. I can also have all my reference photos, and as many as I wish, available at the touch of a button.

Typically, I stop looking at the photo - or laptop screen or, if outdoors, the real landscape - about half-way through the painting process. I reach a point where I begin to respond to the painting, and not to the reference photo. It's a great feeling when I get to this happy place in the studio, because then I know I'll end up with a good painting.

Today, I reached a breakthrough. In the past, I've fretted because my studio paintings don't look like my plein air work. In the studio, I make more tightly-controlled marks, and I do a great deal of scraping and re-painting. I've always fought this in the effort to make the studio work look more like my alla prima outdoor work, which is looser with sometimes wilder color. But why shouldn't they look different? Studio and plein air work are two different species inhabiting two different worlds. Outdoors, I have springtime with the scent of apple trees flowering and the seagulls chattering down by the wharf. In the studio, I have a light source that doesn't move - and coffee and Neil Young.

Above is a studio piece, "The Lucy B." It's 12x16, oil/canvas. I used two reference photos for this, stitching them together.

May Newsletter from Michael

Demonstrating in Illinois

15 May 2010

Campobello Island in the Canadian Maritimes

Believe it or not, we put 3,433 miles on the car between Sedona and Campobello Island! Along the way, we spent some time in Santa Fe; stopped in Springfield, Illinois, to teach a pastel workshop; stopped again to teach an oil and pastel workshop in Valparaiso, Indiana; and then stopped one last time to teach a pastel workshop in Montpelier, Vermont. (These workshops were full, by the way.) Although we had a great time on the way, it's good to be home. The apple trees are already blooming - about 3 weeks early.

I am busy painting for Acadia Invitational II. Argosy Gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine, has invited 30 artists to participate. This is not a "wet paint" event, so many of us will be doing studio paintings. Some of the other artists participating include Elizabeth Tolley, W. Jason Situ, Simon Winegar, David Tutwiler and Tom Nicholas. The exhibit opens August 7 with a reception at the Bar Harbor Inn. (I will post exact times on my website when I have them.) I am honoured to be invited to this event.

I've agreed to be the Juror of Selection for the 2011 (that's next year!) National Exhibition of the Pastel Society of New Hampshire next August. I'm looking forward to this, as well.

For those of you who missed Master Pastellist Doug Dawson last time, he is returning this summer to teach another mentoring workshop for intermediate-advanced students. Doug is a well-respected teacher and very generous with his time and knowledge, and the artists benefited greatly. The workshop, which runs August 2-6, will be based in Lubec, but we'll be painting on both sides of the border on Passamaquoddy Bay. Cost of the workshop is only US$575 which gives you five full days with him. Although Doug will be working in pastel, oil is also welcome. The workshop is limited to only 8 students. Our suggested lodging is The Wharf in Lubec, an elegantly renovated 100-year-old sardine factory. For more information, please visit www.dawson2010.com or contact me. The workshop is filling quickly, so you'll want to act right away.

I still have room in my own Campobello Island workshops. Please go to my workshop page to learn more about Campobello and other upcoming workshops. For Campobello, if you bring a friend, I'll give you $50 off the $300 tuition fee.

If you haven't bought my book (Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oil & Pastel) or any of my other publications, now's a good time to do so. Lulu is offering free shipping on books this summer. At checkout, use the coupon code FREESHIP to qualify. Visit our store at http://stores.lulu.com/miragenm to buy them.

By the way, Trina and I purchased a commercial property in Sedona before we left for studio and workshop space. Pumphouse Studio Gallery (www.PumphouseStudioGallery.com) is where I'll be holding my Paint Sedona workshops next winter, and it'll also be my working studio. It's located in the Creekside Plaza right across the road from the famous Tlaquepaque plaza and a block from Windrush Gallery, which represents me. Since I'll be at Pumphouse only in the winter months, we have arranged for a summer artist to use the space. Nationally-known Hopi sculptor Gerry Quotskuyva will use it as his studio for crafting katsinas and bronze sculpture. We're very excited to have Gerry. And stop in and visit me next winter!

For those of you interested in learning about new paintings, new workshops and helpful painting tips, I encourage you to visit my blog regularly. The site is http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.com. I'm also on Facebook, and I've started putting updates there, as well. Visit me there at http://www.facebook.com/mchesleyjohnson.

Have a great summer, and I hope to see you soon!

Michael