iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 7h

Delivered 3 paintings to the Old School Gallery on Hwy 53 near El Morro National Monument today. You can see them in person (and buy them!) there: elmorroareaartscouncil.org/visit-2/

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 18h

Here's my write-up of my Cape Breton trip--you can see all my sketches at once! mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/travel-wra...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A very happy birthday to French Post-Impressionist Pierre Bonnard, born this day in 1867.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I'm finally back at my studio in New Mexico after many miles. Oh, and I'll start painting again soon--don't let the bass guitar be a distraction.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

One last gouache sketch from Cape Breton, as we are flying home tomorrow. 5×16. Bon voyage!

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Two more 5x8 gouache sketches from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Our trip is coming to an end--just one more day left on the island. This day was a middling overcast one, so no strong light.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

What if you didn't have red, blue and yellow on your palette? mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/master-cla...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

More gouache sketching from Cape Breton. White Point, 5x16.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Continuing our explorations of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Here's a 5x8 gouache sketch from Ingonish.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

More sketches from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, all 5x8 gouache. One of these places is called "Meat Cove"--and as a once-upon-a-time vegetarian (and yet-again-wannabe) I find the name unsettling, to say the least.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Still traveling around Cape Breton, NS. Here are a couple more gouache sketches, 5x8 an 5x16.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Still working our way through Cape Breton NS. Weather has improved! 5x8 and 5x16 gouache.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Fun piece from Cape Breton. Gale-force winds and rain prevented me from painting on location today, but I took plenty of photos. So, from the warmth of our AirBnB, I painted this one from a photo and memory. UnPleinair, 5x8 gouache.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Sap green is a much maligned color. But I've found a use for it! mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/sap-green-...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

OMG! I forgot to post new discount codes for my Plein Air Essentials courses. You can get them here: www.mchesleyjohnson.com/essentials

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Working my way up the New Brunswick coast to Cape Breton NS. Here's a 5x16 gouache from St Martins NB (Fundy Trail, Big Salmon River) hat I'm pleased with.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Here's the final gouache sketch from Campobello Island, 5x16. Next stop, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia!

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Adjusting my pan gouache set...just a little. mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/adjusting-...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Still working to finish the watercolor journal! 5x8 gouache. Yes, anotehr rocky ledge!

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Closing in on the end of my time this season on Campobello Island. 5x8 gouache from last night.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Working hard to finish up my plein air watercolor journal for the summer. Only a couple pages left! 5x8 gouache.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Something different for me. The underbelly of the 1908 decrepit American Can Plant in Eastport, Maine. 8x10 Oil.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This is my last week on Campobello Island, and I'm trying to finish the last few pages in my w/c journal. 5x16 gouache.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Here's a report on the August painting retreat I hosted last month: mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/painting-r...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A fun day in Eastport, Maine, where I sketched the decrepit American Can Plant. Built in 1908, it canned sardines into the 1930s. It has sat empty and vacant for decades--but it is wonderful to sketch! 5x8 gouache/ink-brush.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A happy birthday to German Romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich, born this day in 1774.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

It's All About the Light, 8x10 oil. Experimenting with some color ideas. This is basically Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Brown Pink...and my secret weapon, Dioxizine Purple. #gamblinoils #gamblincolors

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Rainy day play, working from some gouache field sketches. 8x10. Setup, colors used, finished (thus far.) #gamblinoils #gamblin #gamblincolors

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I'm giving away for free my Authentically Human anti-AI logo: mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/authentica...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

One last 8-color pan gouache experiment. 5x8 plein air.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

5x8 gouache plein air. More experimenting with a limited 8-pan gouache kit.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Gouache experiment with a limited 8-color pan gouache set. 5x8. I've got a Substack column on this advenutre coming out in a couple of weeks.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

A very happy birthday to American Impressionist J. Alden Weir, born this day in 1852.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

A very happy birthday to Russian landscape painter Isaac Levitan, born this day in 1860.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Sometimes that 9x12 panel isn't the best choice: mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/choosing-t...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Here's a studio painting, loosely based on a plein air piece, that I had some fun with. mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/what-i-end...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Sometimes, the best solution is to play. mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/what-i-end...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A hike brought me to this today! 5x8 gouache.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Today's fog & low tide painting - 5x16 gouache

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sure, I could post only "serious" paintings, but it's a rainy day, so I'm playing with markers and pastel pencils. 7x12?

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Surfaces in pastel-what to choose? mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/pastel-sur...

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

A gouache sketch from today's secret spot, 5x8.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

A very happy birthday to Scottish landscape and portrait painter, James Paterson, one of the "Glasgow Boys," born this day in 1854.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

A very happy birthday to Hudson River School painter Asher Durand, born this day in 1796.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A very happy birthday to Joseph Crawhill, an English painter associated with the Scottish "Glasgow Boys," born this day in 1861.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Here's yesterday's 5x8 gouache. Another view of low tide.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

A very happy birthday to an intense Gustave Caillebotte, French Impressionist, born this day in 1848.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

A very happy birthday to Scottish painter, Alexander Roche, one of the "Glasgow Boys," born this day in 1861.

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Michael Chesley Johnson @mchesleyjohnson.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

In this oil demonstration, I "scale up" a gouache field sketch. mchesleyjohnson.substack.com/p/oil-demo-l...

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