Michael Chesley Johnson - Looking Into the Shadows

"Doe Mountain Colors"
5x7, pastel

I've been in Sedona for a little over three weeks now, painting up a storm. One of the subjects I find myself continually drawn to are mountain shadows. Many people praise the brightly-lit summits in evening light; but I'm seeking out all the hidden colors in the shadows.

At noontime, the sunlit cliffs tend to be the color of terra cotta or, if you look higher up the strata, more of a warm, chalky color. The shadows, however, seem to have every color of the rainbow. I've had a lot of fun painting them, especially in pastel, which gives me so many immediate and rich color choices. Can you find all the colors in the shadows of Doe Mountain (above)?

Michael Chesley Johnson
www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Vince Fazio - Magic Land

Final 12x16 oil on canvas $300


Middle

Beginning

"Magic Land" 12x16 oil on canvas $300
I'm showing a step-by-step just to demonstrate the continuity of the "abstract content" in the finished work and the beginning point - though the specifics of edge, value, color and texture change a lot - the abstract basis of the composition (or you might say the shapes of the composition) do not change much. "Magic Land" refers to the subject but also to the magical quality of painting - that planes of color and value create a virtual world.

The process used in this painting - that of creating a quick acrylic underpainting - and then using oil paint as the finishing process will also be explored in my upcoming workshop here at the arts center "Painting Without Fear" in March 16 -20.

Please Email me for purchase information.

Carol Marine - "Chocolate Bunny"

Carol Marine - "Chocolate Bunny" - 6x6in. - bid

I started the practice of painting daily just over 2 years ago. I painted this same general composition for my 20th painting, and again here, for #706. I see such a huge improvement between the two and I chalk it all up to painting every single day. Click here to see the original bunny. (this is actually a black, ceramic bunny - here it looks chocolate because of the yellow light).

Zooming In - Michael Chesley Johnson

Pastel Set-up

"Cathedral Rock Shadows"
5x7 pastel

In Sedona, you can set up your easel in almost any spot and have 360 degrees of scenery to choose from. This can be a real problem, even for a professional! It's so easy to unintentionally expand your composition to include not just the center of interest but a dozen other centers of interest as well. One gadget I employ to prevent this is a viewfinder, such as the Viewcatcher. (The Viewcatcher is available from Judson's Art Outfitters.

Here's how I use it. I first zoom in on my center of interest so it entirely fills the viewfinder's frame. Then I pull back, a little bit at a time, to include more of the scene around the center of interest. I continue to pull back until I have just enough other elements in the scene to make a nice composition. Sometimes you don't have to pull back very much, as you can see from the painting above. The photo below it shows the actual scene - and you can see what kind of trouble I would have gotten into had I included everything shown there.

Libby Caldwell - Make a Wish

9 x 12 - oil on canvas $210

Today, as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, I just wanted to add a note to this painting entitled "Make a Wish". The painting is also a celebration, my daughter's birthday tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. As I watched the inauguration today, I felt that kind of hope associated with making a wish.


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Carol Marine - "Magic Grapes"

6"x6" - oil on panel

Every once in a while I finish a painting, step back and have no memory of painting it. I suspect someone else did this one. And because of that you won't think it awful of me to say I love it. It is a magic painting of magic grapes.

Michael Chesley Johnson - Red Rock Crossing Rush

"Red Rock Crossing Rush"
5x7 pastel en plein air

I'm teaching a workshop this week, and yesterday, I painted four small pastels.  By the time I got to this one, which is the fourth and last, I was pretty tired.  The left, verbal side of the brain had switched off, and I was painting purely from the right side.    My color choices were automatic, going straight from the eye to the hand, bypassing that part of me that consciously articulates and narrates.  This painting, as they say, painted itself.   I like the movement and dynamics of it.  I wish I could paint like this all the time. 

Pastel, by the way, is wonderfully suited to this kind of "automatic" painting.  The color choices and the value choices are all right there in your box -  no mixing required, no brushes to clean between strokes.  When I want to go out and paint simply, I choose pastel over oil.

If you haven't heard, I'm teaching two pastel workshops for the Sedona Art Center this winter. On Saturday, January 31, I'm teaching a one-day studio workshop for beginners. I'll show you two of the methods I use to paint in pastel, and we'll have lots of time to work with different materials and techniques. Then the week of March 23-27, I'm teaching a five-day outdoor workshop for all levels. I'll show you how best to use pastel in an outdoor settin, and we'll have fun exploring some of my favorite painting spots. I hope you'll join me for one (or both!) of these workshops.  

Michael Chesley Johnson
www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Henny Penny by Adele Earnshaw

I grew up on a poultry farm in New Zealand, so occasionally I must paint a chicken to remind me of my roots. "Henny Penny" is a 7" x 4" oil on Ampersand Gessobord. I particularly enjoyed painting this little oil, as it was a lesson in edges.

Libby Caldwell - Once upon a time...

8 x 10 oil on panel NFS
The inspiration for this piece came from sketches in my journal.
January 2009.

Vince Fazio - Toward the Sky

12x12 oil on canvas $200

Working warmer (and grayer) than I usually do, but it feels more expansive. I am offering a "Painting Without Fear" 5 day workshop March 16 - 20 at the Sedona Arts Center. This class requires some drawing experience but all levels of painters are welcome. All materials are included.
Please Email me for purchase information.

Michael Chesley Johnson - Sedona Patterns

"Sedona Patterns"
5x7, pastel, en plein air

I arrived in Sedona last Saturday after a long time of being on the road. I'd forgotten how beautiful this place is! Monumental red rocks and sweeping vistas, but also intimate close-ups of juniper-edged arroyos, and weather that can't be surpassed. Most days have seen temperatures in the 50s, which can be plenty warm when you're outdoors painting. We've had plenty of bright sun and flawless blue skies, but also a day or two of spitting rain and snow, both of which add to the quiet mystery of Sedona. It's truly a painter's paradise.

To get back into the painting after traveling, I sat down the other evening to do a little pastel. I call it "Sedona Patterns" because it is a very abstract piece, but one I had fun with. I didn't even do an underpainting, but just launched right in with the pastel on a small scrap of sandpaper. (I used mostly Polychromos pastels and Wallis Sanded Pastel Paper, the Belgian Mist color.)

If you haven't heard, I'm teaching two pastel workshops for the Sedona Art Center this winter. On Saturday, January 31, I'm teaching a one-day studio workshop for beginners. I'll show you two of the methods I use to paint in pastel, and we'll have lots of time to work with different materials and techniques. Then the week of March 23-27, I'm teaching a five-day outdoor workshop for all levels. I'll show you how best to use pastel in an outdoor settin, and we'll have fun exploring some of my favorite painting spots. I hope you'll join me for one (or both!) of these workshops.

Michael Chesley Johnson
www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Adele Earnshaw "The Birds Began to Sing"

This 7" x 7" oil of blackbirds, is done on Ampersand gesso board. I start small oils like this one, with a few quick broad brush strokes done in a dark, transparent dark (often alizarin crimson/French ultramarine blue). Then, like finding faces in clouds, a look for inspiration from the quick brush work. Often, I see a marsh. Lately, it seems I am more inspired by color than shapes.

Vince Fazio - "Tower"

16.5 x 16.5 graphite on paper $150

I have done a couple paintings at this spot in the past. A recent trip to the Grand Canyon shortly after the snow led to this drawing. Maybe another painting to come. I like the square format on this. When working on paper I allow the composition to grow or shrink as needed. This strange formation actually exists pretty much as portrayed though a layer of snow is making the path out to this promontory seem more walkable than it really would be.
Please Email me for purchase information.

Carol Marine - "Grazing"

Carol Marine - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Grazing" - bid

Someone asked me today if I use a palette knife. I don't. But what I do ... do, is use crisp, flat brushes. I buy good brushes (lately Silver Bristlon brights - the flats are too long for me) and every time I wash them I wrap them up to keep them flat. Here is a photo of the process. I used to put each brush up in the ... crack of a folded piece of cardboard and clamp the whole thing, but I realized after a while that I get the same results with just the paper towel. I fold the end down so it stays closed on its own.