Not Painting the Obvious

"Bear Mountain View" 6x12, oil

One of the problems with painting in truly spectacular places is that it is so easy to paint the obvious.  Especially if it's a famous spot, the chances are you'll paint a hackneyed view, something that's been on hundred of postcards and in thousands of family photo albums.  Sedona is a bit like that.  Everyone likes to photograph (and paint) Cathedral Rock with the waters of Oak Creek shimmering in the foreground.  I'm guilty of dozens of such photos and paintings.  But it is a pretty scene!

What is the obvious?  I'm speaking more about design than anything else.  Even if Cathedral Rock weren't famous, it'd still be an obvious scene.  The creek provides a great lead-in for the viewer, and the rock itself is a perfect center of interest.  Frederick Law Olmsted couldn't have designed a more visually pleasing landscape.

But it's too easy.  Plant a dozen painters in front of it, and they'll paint virtually the same design.  (Granted, media and style will be different.)

When you're confronted with the obvious, turning around 180 degrees and painting something else will force you into discovery mode.  Discovery mode is something we should all stretch for.  It's what makes us grow as painters.

There's one place where I've never been able to find the obvious.  Compositions are frustratingly hard to come by.  It's the old town dump, now overgrown with prickly pear, creosote bush and juniper.   You do get views of the Sedona red rocks, but they are distant.  What a great idea it would be to take a group of students there and tell them to find something to paint.  They'd probably scratch their heads, ask me why we just didn't go to Cathedral Rock where there is something to paint.  Someday, they'd understand I was doing them a favor.

Above is a sketch I did there yesterday.

Outdoor Painting Sizes

Last week I ran an informal poll among my blog readers and WetCanvas forum participants.  The question was, What size do you most typically paint in outdoors?  I was curious, because I'm in the process of writing an article for The Artist's Magazine on large format outdoor painting.

I limited the poll to certain sizes.  I suggested to participants that they find a size that is close if they didn't see theirs listed.  Over 130 painters responded, and if you're one of them, thank you!

Here are the percentages:

Remember that these are what respondents typically paint in.

Here are some observations:

• Nearly three-quarters of the respondents typically paint either 8x10 or 9x12
• All but 4% typically paint 12x16 or smaller

I suppose a follow-up poll might ask, What do you consider to be a large format?  But, if one were to postulate that a large format is anything that most people don't paint in, anything over 12x16 would be large.

By the way, there are still several shopping days left till Christmas!  The studio sale continues a bit longer.

Eve, the Little Mermaid - Sedona Arts Center Fundraiser

"Eve, the Little Mermaid" 6x6, oil - $100 (see below)

The Sedona Arts Center (www.sedonaartscenter.com) has embarked on a fundraiser to help with repairs of the historic barn, which houses it.  The barn was an apple barn in days gone past, and so the title of the fundraiser is fitting:  "Apples for the Art Barn."  It's a worthy cause, since SAC does a huge amount to help with local arts education.


From the website:
All artworks will be sold at the set price of $100 with a goal of raising $10,000. This will be combined with the existing funds and will be used to replace the siding, insulation and windows of the Art Barn to preserve the historical building of Sedona Arts Center.


The show, which runs until January 4th, consists of little paintings, all 6x6, with "apples" as the theme.  


My contribution is pictured above.  My grandfather, for some reason, had a little collection of ceramic mermaids, each stamped with "Made in Occupied Japan" on the bottom.  I suspect they came from my father, who served in the Marines in the Pacific in World War II.  (He was one of the few who made it back alive from Iwo Jima.)  After my grandfather died, this collection came to me.  I really like the juxtaposition of this saucy lass with the apple.  Was there ever a mermaid named "Eve"? 


The support is coarse-textured canvas, and as such, one can't put much detail into a painting.  I used Gamblin's FastMatte alkyds, partly because of the quick dry-time, but also because it allowed me to paint loosely and with a pastel-like finish. 


If you're interested in this little piece, please let SAC know.   They'll gladly help you with the purchase and will ship.  You can reach them at 928-282-3865.

Thoughts on Teaching

Photo by Ruth Ann Sturgill

Over the centuries, most painters have taught.  Back during Leonardo's day, painters took on apprentices to help with the dirty work of grinding paint and cleaning the hearth, but they also took care to teach the apprentices a thing or two.   This happened in the French academic period, too, but instruction was more formalized with a curriculum that lasted several years.  In the last century, plein air painters like Charles Hawthorne and William Merritt Chase set up schools that became very popular.  You may have seen some of the historic photos of students lined up like lemmings at the ocean.  And today, of course, you'll find many excellent plein air painters who teach, some only in their home town, but others who range across continents.

Hawthorne Class

Teaching, if you are serious about it, can take a lot of time away from painting for yourself.   It involves lecturing and, quite often, doing lengthy demonstrations in which you may paint to illustrate a point and not to make a fine picture.  You may paint to show how the temperature of shadow differs from that of light, or how a rock can be depicted as a series of interlocking planes.  If the stars are properly aligned, one of these demos may turn out well enough that a couple of brush strokes applied in the studio may turn it into something to frame.  But you're not often that lucky.

Someone once asked me, When do you paint for yourself?  Although I schedule a great many workshops, I also make sure to schedule long periods of time for myself.  It's during these times that I'm researching techniques, exploring and trying to grow as a painter.   Those weeks are precious to me, and I wouldn't give them up.   I want to continue to be painter who teaches - and not a teacher who paints.

Painters teach for two reasons.   First, to butter their bread when painting sales are down.  Second, because they enjoying sharing the craft and their vision.  But I've found a third reason to teach.  I also teach for friendship.  Over the years, a number of students have become not just good painters but good friends as well.  There's a camaraderie that develops when students come back again and again, getting better each time.  And it's very rewarding to have students follow me in my teaching travels.

Don't forget that I'm teaching in Sedona this winter:  www.PaintSedona.com.  I have other workshops, too, so click here for a full schedule.

Scottsdale Artists School Workshop in Tubac, Arizona

"Yellow House, Tubac" 9x12, oil

I have a plein air workshop coming up in Tubac, Arizona, that I'd like to spread the word about.  This will be through Scottsdale Artists' School, and I am, quite frankly, tickled pink that they asked me to teach a workshop.  SAS is one of the premiere art schools in the country, and I'm proud to be part of it.

The workshop runs January 23-26, 2012,  (that's a Monday-Thursday) and will be based at Amado Territory Ranch Inn.  (That's about 8 minutes from Tubac.) The workshop is for all levels and all media, although I will be working in oil and pastel.   Space is limited, and so is the lodging, so don't delay in signing up!

You can register here at the Scottsdale Artists' School site.

Here's a little about the workshop:

Join Michael Chesley Johnson for a mid-winter retreat in historic Tubac, Arizona. Tubac is one of the earliest settlements in Arizona and is home to the Tumacacori Mission, which was established in 1691 and is now a National Historic Park, and the Presidio, a fort founded in 1752 and now a State Park. Besides historic buildings, we'll paint Tubac's colorful streets and its mountain views.

For the student not yet comfortable with plein air painting, this workshop will show them how to get out in the field with a minimum of fuss and baggage. Holding to the concept that everything a painter needs should fit into a backpack, students will learn to strip down their gear to the essentials. In addition, they'll learn an easy, step-by-step process to capture the moment without sacrificing mood and magic. 

During the four-day workshop, students can expect to do at least one painting a day. They can expect daily demonstrations plus some studio time for initial lectures, critiques and wrap-up. Portable easel and transportation necessary.

I hope you'll join me!  Below are some photos to whet your appetite.

St Ann's Catholic Church

Historic Storefront in Tubac

Local Color in Tubac

More Local Color in Tubac

Historic Tumacacori Bar (great pool table!)

Tumacacori Mission Courtyard

Tumacacori Mission Courtyard

Tumacacori Mission Bell Tower

Demonstration at the Mission