A reader who recently retired asked a question that many of us ask ourselves: not can I improve, but how do I improve when there’s no class to enroll in, no grade to earn, no teacher looking over my shoulder?

It’s a good question. Those of us who are years, perhaps decades, out from any formal schooling—which most likely had nothing to do with art—encounter a roadblock when trying to learn something new. Workshops have their place, of course, and so do online courses and books, but they can only take you so far. How do you get past that roadblock on your own?

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This video popped up on my feed recently, and I thought it was worth sharing. It’s interesting to note that animators, illustrators and other commercial artists often hit the field to gather information for their indoor creations.

(As an aside: Several years ago, I encountered a group of artists—I can’t remember the name of the group now, unfortunately—painting at Grand Canyon. I asked if they were a plein air painting group, and they said they were commercial artists gathering reference material for paintings they would be making of Martian landscapes for NASA. I thought that was fascinating.)

Disney artists were (and are) no exception. Below is a video, introduced and narrated by Walt Disney, of four of his animators going into the field to paint a tree. It’s interesting to see their very different approaches. The four artists—Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, Joshua Meador, and Walt Peregoy—demonstrate how individual style and intent drastically change the interpretation of the same subject: a single old oak tree.

[I posted this previously, but I think it’s worth posting again. I welcome your questions and suggestions! Want a video demonstration? I can do that, too!]

You’d think a creative person would have little trouble coming up with topics for a weekly column. And mostly, that’s true. I’ve been writing one nearly every week for 21 years. But occasionally, I hit a dry spell—like now.

In the past, I’ve asked for topic suggestions in a general way, and while that’s worked, many ideas turn out to be ones I’ve already covered. So this time, I want to give you a clearer picture of my background as an artist so your suggestions can be more targeted. After reading on, I’d love for you to share your ideas in the comments!

The Art Itself

Although I’ve been painting all my life, I didn’t go professional until 25 years ago. I advertise myself primarily as a plein air painter, but I also have considerable studio experience. The plein air work is, of course, rooted in landscape (as is most of my studio work) though I’ve also explored still life, figure, and portraiture. As for media, I’m most experienced with oil and pastel, somewhat less so with gouache, and I work in watercolor only occasionally. Drawing, however, is something I pursue as often as I can.

Travel and Location

Plein air painting, for me, often means travel—and I love it! Over the years, I’ve painted in a remarkable variety of places: the coasts of Maine, California, and the Canadian Maritimes; New England and Midwestern lakes and forested hills; the Grand Canyon and other southwest canyons; high mountains like the Rockies and the Adirondacks; the lochs and burns of Scotland; and many more beyond those.

Teaching

Teaching has been a major part of my income since going professional. I’ve specialized in small-group instruction, up to four students, but I also have extensive experience with larger groups, and I’ve demonstrated and lectured for art organizations and conferences. (I’ve appeared at the annual Plein Air Convention three times, and rumor has it I’ll be back for PAC 2027.)

The Business Side

Selling art, teaching, and writing about art are my livelihood, and with that comes the less glamorous side of the profession: spreadsheets, inventory databases, image archives and marketing. Marketing is an area I’ve taken seriously—I’m proud of having built an effective advertising approach without wasting money in the process. I’ve also taught considerably online, creating my own set of self-study, self-paced courses plus mentoring.

That’s the full picture. I hope it sparks some questions and fresh ideas. I’m looking forward to hearing from you—I welcome your questions and suggestions!

Every painter tells about the day he learned some technique that changed everything. A new way of holding the brush. How one stroke with a knife can replace a dozen brush strokes. How paint can be layered to achieve the beauty of broken color.

But this kind of revelation is just the beginning. The harder part of learning our craft is invisible. It’s what happens before the brush even touches the surface. And, more importantly, it’s the part that continues after you’ve put the brush down. It’s what I’d call “thinking like a painter.”

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How do you mentally separate “art as livelihood” from “art as passion” when they’re the same activity? The short answer is: you don’t separate them. Instead, you protect the passion from being consumed by the livelihood.

There’s a danger in turning your passion into a job. For a long time, I painted just for pleasure, never thinking it would become a major part of my income. Instead, I had a burning desire to make a living by writing. That drive gave me the strength to put up with a soul-grinding job while working on my novel in the wee hours.

But then I took a one-day painting workshop, and the wonder of that experience opened my eyes. This was the destination I truly wanted to steer toward. I began painting regularly, sharpening my skills through steady practice and the occasional workshop; started winning prizes at exhibitions; hustled my work into galleries; and even organized a few workshops of my own in scenic locations.

And then I quit my day job. Instead, my passion became my job.

That was a quarter-century ago—and I’ve managed to keep the passion burning. Here’s what worked for me:

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Recently, a reader asked whether I had any suggestions for dealing with hand tremors as a painter. As she’s aged, she’s found her hand becoming increasingly unsteady. For someone for whom art is a major part of life, it’s been an extremely depressing development. A steady hand is important if you want to paint detail, but even if you prefer broad strokes, steadiness matters for controlling edges.

At first, I didn’t have many ideas, other than perhaps working in a larger format with a bigger brush. But while researching possible solutions, I came across artist Phil Hansen, who struggled with hand tremors early on. His story of “embracing the shake” is an inspiring one. He talks about it in this TED video:

Hansen ultimately became a different kind of artist through his efforts. But if you’re a painter with a tremor and want to continue working in a style similar to what you’re doing today, here are some options to consider.

Stabilization Techniques

• Brace or support your painting arm against your body, a table edge, or a maulstick

• Paint with the whole arm rather than just the wrist or hand (larger, more fluid movements are often easier to control)

• Sit rather than stand, using a stable surface to anchor your elbow

Adaptive Tools

• Weighted gloves or wrist weights can help dampen involuntary movement

• Ergonomic or wider‑grip brushes are often easier to hold steadily; foam tubing (such as pipe insulation) can be added to brush handles

• Brush holders or arm supports can provide mechanical stabilization

If none of these approaches work for you, it may be worth reconsidering your style or process:

• Take advantage of the tremor—many artists have incorporated shaky, expressive marks into their work

• Switch media—watercolor washes, palette‑knife painting, or printmaking may be easier to manage than fine detail

• Explore collage or mixed media—cutting, tearing, and gluing require less fine motor precision

• Try digital painting—apps like Procreate include stroke‑stabilization features that automatically smooth shaky lines

Another possibility is to consult a neurologist or movement‑disorder specialist. Tremors have many causes, and some are quite treatable.

If you’re not experiencing hand tremors now, you may in the future. The likelihood of developing a tremor—especially essential tremor or those associated with Parkinson’s disease—increases with age. (Parkinson’s, in particular, appears to be on the rise, possibly due to environmental factors.) But if you do develop a tremor, don’t lose hope. You can still have a rewarding, meaningful life as an artist.

In my plein air painting workshops, I provide a short handout that gives students the basic principles for plein air painting. After 25 years of giving it out to paying students, I’ve decided to make it available to everyone, for free.

You can download the PDF here.

You’d think that, over 25 years, the handout would need updating, but I’ve found “how to paint” consists of some basic principles that, like the laws of phyics, don’t change. The only thing that might change are some of the products listed (which I have updated for this release.)

Of course, an artist is continually in evolution, so if you do take a workshop from me, you might find I have changed my palette and other materials a little. (Who doesn’t like to change things up now and then?) But the important thing is, the fundamentals remain the same.

I hope you find the handout useful. If you’d like more useful information from, I encourage you to become a paid subscriber (if you’re not already one.)

Subscribe now

I’ve worked with soft (chalk) pastels for many years. I love the instant gratification of color and how easy it is to draw with them. But the downside: They’re messy, shedding dust everywhere.

My artist friend Tim Gaydos paints diner scenes. He works from life sketches made in real diners, then recreates those scenes in his studio—staging props and posing models to match his references—before rendering everything in soft pastels.

You’d think he’d make his life sketches in soft pastel, too, but he doesn’t. When I asked him about that he laughed and said, “I’d get kicked out of the diner because of the mess. I use oil pastels.”

Soft pastels are a very different animal from oil pastels. Soft pastels are pure pigment mixed with a binding agent, usually gum tragacanth; oil pastels are pigment mixed with a blend of non-drying oil and wax. Soft pastels make lots of dust; oil pastels make none.

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(I think everyone needs to know about scams, so I’m making this post free.)

You’re an artist, and you want to sell your art. You haven’t sold anything in quite some time, and both your bank account and your ego have tumbled off a cliff. But today you get an email from someone who wants to buy your work! Huzzah!

However, as you reach for the champagne, you remember that there are scams out there targeting artists. You don’t want to fall for one, but you also don’t want to turn away a real buyer.

This happened to me—again—recently. Most of the scam emails I get are quite obvious: “I saw my wife looking at your web site, and she was quite taken with your works. For our anniversary, I would like to buy her something special...” and so on. This one, however, was different and almost fooled me. The writer had a particular painting in mind, wanted to know the “real price,” offered to pay via Venmo and to have his cousin pick it up.

Red flags went up when he couldn’t satisfactorily answer some basic questions. I asked him how he learned of the painting, what drew him to it, and where he lived—and, not knowing where I lived, how did he know his cousin could pick it up? Even so, I went along with it, curious. Then, when he supposedly sent payment to my Paypal account (sorry, no Venmo here), the money didn’t show up...but an email from Paypal (not) did appear in my spam folder, asking me to call a number to verify my identity and to pay $500 to “increase the limit” on my account so I could receive his payment.

Well, the email address was an obvious fake one (something like paypalservice19474393@gmail.com) and the phone number wasn’t listed with Paypal. I quickly blocked him and forwarded the email to phishing@paypal.com.

How Do You Know?

To determine if the email is a scam, without turning away a real buyer, consider asking questions like these:

• “How did you come across my work?” (Vague answers like “online” or “searching” are a red flag.)

• “Have you followed my work for a while, or did you just discover it recently?”

• “Is there something specific about this painting that drew you to it?”

• “Are you familiar with the medium/style, or is this a new direction for your collection?” (A scammer probably never actually looked at the work.)

• “Is this for your home, or a particular space you have in mind?”

• “Is this for yourself or a gift for someone?”

• “Do you collect art regularly, or is this more of a special purchase?”

• “Are you local, or would this need to be shipped?”

• “Have you bought artwork online before? I want to make sure the process is smooth for you.” (This opens a conversation about payment and shipping in a helpful but not suspicious tone.)

• “Would you like a few more photos of the piece in different lighting before you commit?” (Scammers often don’t care.)

• “I’m happy to jump on a quick call if you have any questions—sometime it’s easier than email.” (A scammer will almost always decline.)

If the person can answer these questions satisfactorily, go for it. But don’t ship the painting right away! Make sure the money has cleared and is in your pocket—no matter how payment comes to you—before you do anything.

Let’s be careful out there.

You’d think a creative person would have little trouble coming up with topics for a weekly column. And mostly, that’s true. I’ve been writing one nearly every week for 21 years. But occasionally, I hit a dry spell—like now.

In the past, I’ve asked for topic suggestions in a general way, and while that’s worked, many ideas turn out to be ones I’ve already covered. So this time, I want to give you a clearer picture of my background as an artist so your suggestions can be more targeted. After reading on, I’d love for you to share your ideas in the comments!

The Art Itself

Although I’ve been painting all my life, I didn’t go professional until 25 years ago. I advertise myself primarily as a plein air painter, but I also have considerable studio experience. The plein air work is, of course, rooted in landscape (as is most of my studio work) though I’ve also explored still life, figure, and portraiture. As for media, I’m most experienced with oil and pastel, somewhat less so with gouache, and I work in watercolor only occasionally. Drawing, however, is something I pursue as often as I can.

Travel and Location

Plein air painting, for me, often means travel—and I love it! Over the years, I’ve painted in a remarkable variety of places: the coasts of Maine, California, and the Canadian Maritimes; New England and Midwestern lakes and forested hills; the Grand Canyon and other southwest canyons; high mountains like the Rockies and the Adirondacks; the lochs and burns of Scotland; and many more beyond those.

Teaching

Teaching has been a major part of my income since going professional. I’ve specialized in small-group instruction, up to four students, but I also have extensive experience with larger groups, and I’ve demonstrated and lectured for art organizations and conferences. (I’ve appeared at the annual Plein Air Convention three times, and rumor has it I’ll be back for PAC 2027.)

The Business Side

Selling art, teaching, and writing about art are my livelihood, and with that comes the less glamorous side of the profession: spreadsheets, inventory databases, image archives and marketing. Marketing is an area I’ve taken seriously—I’m proud of having built an effective advertising approach without wasting money in the process. I’ve also taught considerably online, creating my own set of self-study, self-paced courses plus mentoring.

That’s the full picture. I hope it sparks some questions and fresh ideas. I’m looking forward to hearing from you—I welcome your questions and suggestions!

The other day, I was sketching one of my favorite dead trees in pencil. It was a glorious late winter day with a hard blue sky overhead. I’d set my little camp stool in the shade—the sun can be quite intense even this time of year at 7000 feet in New Mexico—and got busy. This particular tree is quite involved with little sticks poking out and weird, snake-like curves to the limbs, so I was intensely focused on my drawing.

Ravens love these bright days, and often, they’ll soar quite close overhead. You can hear their wings sweeping through the air with a loud “whisk.” When one settled on a branch of my tree, I knew I had to add it in—but quickly! as I knew it would fly away as soon as it finished checking me out.

I did a decent job of capturing its form, and I was proud I’d done it so quickly. But when I got home, I realized immediately that I’d gotten the profile of the beak wrong. What I’d sketched was something more like a woodpecker’s beak; a raven’s is thicker and much blunter.

I got out my 6B pencil and eraser and made a couple of quick adjustments that took care of the problem.

I’d been in a hurry, of course, and the beak I’d drawn was really just a placeholder; but fortunately, I know what a raven’s beak looks like—I’ve seen hundreds from my canyon cliff over the years—so I was able to correct it back in the studio.

A base of knowledge built on past observation is so important when you are trying to sketch a bird who has someplace to go.

Here’s the full sketch:

We had a snow storm the other week—actually, for four days we had rain, sleet, small hail and snow—but the warm, summery weather has returned, allowing me to get out. Actually, there’s very little snow left! I have to hunt for it. Here’s a patch of snow that gave me a chance to play with some of the new Gamblin colors. Let me show you.

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As much as I love to paint outdoors, every now and then I come back with a painting that doesn’t satisfy me. But when I prop it up on the easel, I often see that just a half hour of work will bring it to the next level.

This 8x10 oil is an example. I made it as during a Private Painting Intensive week with a student back in October. The piece was successful for demonstrating effects of how bounced light works in shadow and the effects of atmospheric perspective on a very sunny day. But back at the studio, it seemed somewhat weak—I wanted more contrast, richer color.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the new greens that Gamblin Artist Colors released. Now I have a few more colors I want to share. These are very exciting because they expand the blues, radiants and the less expensive “1980” line.

To help balance out these colors and fill out my palette for some testing, I also ordered three of the quinacridone colors (Red, Magenta and Violet.)

I haven’t had time to paint a proper landscape with these colors, but after making some color swatches, I decided to use my leftover colors to create “Interstellar,” the non-objective piece above.

Here are descriptions of the colors and some color swatches I made. I’m looking forward to getting into the field with these new colors!

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Well, I missed Thomas Cole’s birthday this year. Hudson River Valley artist Cole was born on February 1, 1801, and he inspired many generations of landscape artists, both studio and plein air painters. In celebration of his birthday, I’ve removed the paywall (forever!) on my Plein Air Primer columns, all seven of them. You can read them for free here.

In these articles, I’ve distilled much of my plein air practice. With plein air painting season just around the corner, I hope you find them useful—whether you’re a beginner or an old pro.

With that in mind, I want to remind you also of my Plein Air Essentials online courses. In them, I cover basics, but I also offer supplements specifically for pastel, oil and gouache, plus a course on creating studio paintings from your outdoor studies. I’ve discounted the courses to $13.99 each. You can see the courses here. They are self-study and self-paced, and I enjoyed making them.

In closing, here’s a beautiful little plein air sketch from Thomas Cole:

• Title: Sketch for View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow)

• Artist: Thomas Cole (American, Lancashire 1801–1848 Catskill, New York)

• Date: 1836

• Medium: Oil and pencil on composition board

• Dimensions: 5 1/2 x 9 3/8 in. (14 x 23.8 cm)

• Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Mrs. Delancey Thorn Grant, in memory of her mother, Louise Floyd-Jones Thorn, by exchange and Friends of the American Wing Fund, 2014 / The Metropolitan Museum, New York City, New York, USA

I thought I’d share with you the progress steps for one of my “lake ice” paintings. Although this 12x36 oil is not plein air, it gives you a glimpse of how I might take my studio references from outside and create something larger.

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Despite the weather we’ve been seeing in the northern hemisphere, Spring is on its way! In fact, we’ve already entered meteorological spring. So astronomical spring isn’t far behind! I promise!

With that in mind, I’ve posted new discount codes for my Plein Air Essentials courses. Learn plein air painting, or if you’re already an expert, up your game! Find out more here: https://www.mchesleyjohnson.com/essentials

If the interior of your house has white walls, you’ve probably noticed something curious: most of the time, they aren’t really white at all. Instead, they pick up the color of any light that happens to fall on them. In my studio, for example, the walls are white, yet as I type this well before dawn, an incandescent floor lamp turns them a warm yellow, while a desk lamp casts a cooler, bluish glow behind my computer. Later, when sunlight slips through the window and reflects off the mostly red carpet beneath my easel, the wall will take on a soft pink. And if I walk through that light wearing my blue fleece jacket, a brief, intense blue will flash across it.

I like to think of white as the “chameleon color”—it picks up the color of whatever’s around it. I try to remember this whenever I’m out painting snow. Although my brain likes to believe that snow is white, it never is.

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The snow is lingering in the canyon, so I’ve been going out in the afternoons to seek inspiration. “Snow Slide” (8x10 oil) is the result of one of my excursions. I thought you might like to see the steps involved—and then, how I experimented with a few changes in the studio digitally before making them “live.”

For this piece, I used an 8x10 canvas panel (”Pannelli Telati” from Belle Arti, www.pieraccini.com), an 8x10 Guerrilla Painter Cigar Box, plus a limited palette of “1980” oil paints from Gamblin.

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I was invited to join the annual Postcard Art Exhibit, which this year takes place in The Hague, Netherlands. Every year since 2019, the organizers have picked a different charity to benefit, and this time the charity will support Alzheimer’s patients.

As you might expect, the Postcard Art Exhibit will offer art in true “postcard” size, 5x7 inches. For my entry, I chose to replicate a scene I know and love so well, the view from the cliffs behind my studio of our lake in deep winter. Wanting a medium that would dry quickly and yet be durable, I chose to paint in casein. I haven’t painted so small in some time, so it was a fun challenge!

From the website, here’s more about the exhibit:

The Postcard Art Exhibit (P.A.E.) proudly announces its 15th international exhibition, opening June 6, 2026 (6 juni 2026) at See Lab Project Space in Scheveningen, The Hague — a beloved coastal district known for its rich cultural heritage and thriving artist community. This year’s exhibition, curated by Dutch artist Tessa Maagdenberg, will support the Blijft-je-Bij art program at Museum Beelden aan Zee — a groundbreaking initiative for individuals living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

As for how things are handled:

During the physical exhibition, sales are made on-site at the venue and collected and handled by the charity and volunteers. During online sales, our partnered charity will collect each order as they arrive and carefully package and ship the works to our buyers worldwide. As orders are collected, the entire team of volunteers within the charity, the curator’s team, and the P.A.E. organization are alerted of each sale. We have complete transparency within our organization, our curator, and our beneficiary.

At the close of each Postcard Art Exhibition, 80% of the revenue of artwork sales goes to our partnered charity for that year. The remaining 20% goes to the P.A.E. organization to help cover ongoing maintenance costs and overhead. Postcard Art Exhibit relies on these funds to have sustainability and repeat the exhibition annually.

*Benefiting organizations are vetted by Postcard Art Exhibit’s curators and our organizing board. One of our biggest concerns is doing our due diligence, and we take every precaution to ensure our initiative does not exploit anyone.

There will be a printed catalog as well as an online exhibit, and people can purchase paintings from anywhere in the world!

As for what I use for casein, you can read about my kit here.