Michael Chesley Johnson, Author, Artist, Plein Air Painter of the Southwest and Downeast Maine and Canadian Maritimes

My paintings explore the landscapes of the American Southwest and the Canadian Maritimes in oil and pastel. I also teach plein air painting workshops and host retreats in many scenic locations. I write frequently for leading art magazines such as Artists Magazine, Pastel Journal and Watercolor Artist. My latest book is Beautiful Landscape Painting Outdoors: Mastering Plein Air.

Stealthy Autumn 8×16 Oil

Small Paintings

Enjoy the collection of small paintings. These are pieces 9x12 or smaller, featuring Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, the Southwest and my travels.

Click Here

Southwest Paintings

I spend most of my year in the American Southwest, painting in many scenic spots in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado--often finding inspiration in my own back yard

Click Here

Maritime Paintings

I spend summers on beautiful Campobello Island--famous for the summer home of US President Franklin D. Roosvelt--where I enjoy painting the Canadian Maritimes and Downeast Maine.

Click Here

Special Painting Projects

When I'm not painting outdoors, I work in the studio on special painting projects, producing larger works. Whereas painting outdoors is about responding to the landscape, painting in the studio is the time for reflecting.

Click Here

Books & Videos

Study with Me

Weekly Column

Want to improve your plein air painting practice?

Authentically human, not made by AI. AI had no part in the creation of this content.

All Content © 2026 Michael Chesley Johnson
NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text or images is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.