"Dry Creek in Spring." by Michael Chesley Johnson, 2011, pastel, 12 x 9. Collection the artist


Michael Chesley Johnson painting along the rim of the Grand Canyon

Michael Chesley Johnson is a versatile painter who offers informative workshops, books (both print and digital), blogs, and articles. He will be conducting demonstrations of pastel and oil painting in Red Rock National Conservation Area during the PleinAir convention, including ways of working with the expanded line of FastMatte alkyd colors from Gamblin Artists Colors. “In part, my choice of media is based on convenience, but I also see a benefit to having one type of paint inform my handling of the others,” he says. “That is, what I learn in dealing with the characteristics of watercolor, pastel, oil, or alkyd colors helps me when I choose to work with any of the others.

"Snowy Heights," by Michael Chesley Johnson, 2012, Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oil Paints, 9 x 12. Collection the artist

“One can paint any subject with watercolor, pastel or oil colors, so the choice is not limited by the characteristics I refer to,” Johnson explains. “For example, the delicate washes a watercolorist may use to represent the sky can also be achieved with oil paint; and I can get a similar effect with lightly layering or blending pastels. Certainly, the final effect will be somewhat different, but there's a way to handle any subject and achieve excellent results.

Michael Chesley Johnson on location in Sedona, Arizona

“Choosing pastel is, for me, more a matter of convenience,” Johnson goes on to say. “I don't need all the peripherals associated with oil painting like brushes, thinner, medium and the like. I've hiked into the mountains near Ouray, Colorado, to paint with nothing more than a set of NuPastels and a sheet of Wallis sanded paper taped to a small sheet of foam board. After emptying my backpack, I used it for a cushion on a rock and painted with the taped paper in my lap. I would have had a hard time hiking the five miles with my heavy oil painting gear.

“Silverton Slope,” by Michael Chesley Johnson,  2012, pastel, 12 x 9. Collection the artist

“I confess to having a fond spot in my heart for pastel,” Johnson adds. “I rediscovered my love of painting through a one-day workshop in pastel. I appreciated the fact that pastel color is immediate — just pick up a stick and go — and that the painting process is quite tactile.  It invokes all the pleasure I associate with my childhood experiences in finger painting.  Working seriously with pastel also led me to working in the great outdoors and, ultimately, back to oil painting.

“Snoopy Rock View,” by Michael Chesley Johnson, 2011, pastel, 5 x 7. Collection the artist

“When people ask, ‘Why both oil and pastel?’ I tell them that one medium informs the other,” the artist explains.  “Because every color in pastel comes in several steps in value, one can easily learn how to keep values separate, which is an important part of plein air painting. Oil painters would be well served to learn that skill. Anytime artists add color to a mixture, they change the values whether the they intended to or not, and ‘value slippage’ becomes a common failure in oil painting. But because pastels offer such a wide range of colors — 525, if you have the full set of Sennelier pastels, for example — painters rarely learn the skill of mixing color.  On the other hand, painting in oil is all about mixing color. Pastel painters who haven't learned how to mix color get into trouble with a limited set of pastels. So, practicing in both media brings both skill sets to a higher level.

8. “Yavapai Point View,” by Michael Chesley Johnson, 2011, pastel, 9 x 12. Collection the artist

“Lately, I've been painting with oil colors that, because they dry quickly and with a matte finish, remind me of pastels,” Johnson reveals. “Gamblin Artist Colors recently released its FastMatte line of alkyd oil paints.  I like them very much because when I’m painting outdoors in an arid environment where they dry even more quickly, my brush jumps and skips, leaving broken brush strokes and plenty of broken color.  That contributes to the richly-textured look of skillfully applied pastel.

About Michael Chesley Johnson
An award-winning landscape painter noted for his expressive, intuitive use of color, Johnson works in both oil and pastel.  He paints primarily outdoors, choosing locations from the American Southwest, Downeast Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. He has been an Invited Artist at the Sedona Plein Air Festival for the past six years (2006-2011), and in 2011 participated in the Plein Air Southwest, Grand Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park invitationals. He will be back at the Grand Canyon event in 2012.

Johnson was awarded Master Pastellist status by Pastel Artists Canada in 2008, and he is a Signature Member of The Pastel Society of America, and a juried member of Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society. His paintings have appeared in several art magazines and in private collection.

Johnson's ability to talk about the act of painting in easy-to-understand terms has made him a popular teacher and writer.  He gives workshops across the U.S. and in Canada to all levels of students, from beginner to professional. His latest book, Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oil & Pastel, was released in 2008 and a new book, Through a Painter's Brush: The Southwest, will be released in 2012.  He has several art instruction videos available. Johnson maintains a summer studio on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, and a winter studio near Sedona, Arizona. To learn more, visit www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com, www.PaintCampobello.com and www.PaintSedona.com.