Michael Chesley Johnson, Landscape Artist Painter Writer Author Teacher Instructor

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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

Authentically Human

AI is rapidly supplanting the human element in our creative world.  I'm doing my part by making sure all my work is made by hand, start to finish.

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New! Online, LIVE Workshop!

Starting November 14, I'll be teaching a 6-week course LIVE and online through Mastrius.
If you are a plein air painter who makes studio paintings out of field studies but aren't satisified with the results, my new course, From Field to Finish, is designed to get you to the next level!

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Books & Videos

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Study with Me

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Weekly Column

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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.