The painting I’m bringing you today is called Amber Path, 5×7. I painted this just a couple days ago and I really liked it. I think you will too. I was out walking thinking about what I wanted to say about this painting....
Drawing, Color, and the Art of Restraint Good morning, afternoon, or evening. This is your painter in residence, Michael Francis McCarthy, occasionally known as M. Francis McCarthy. Yesterday I painted a coastal scene—really a sky painting with a little peninsula worked in. I’m...
The color of your board is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make Welcome to Easel Talk #38. Today’s talk is about ground color—the color of the board you’re painting on. It sounds simple, but I’m telling you, it’s one of the...
Lessons in Color, Scale, and Painting Smart The painting I’m bringing you today is called The Edge of Light. It’s a 4 painting I’m bringing you today is called The Edge of Light. It’s a 4 by 6, and I painted this last...
Revisiting a reference I painted years ago. Maybe some of you have noticed I’ve moved away from the M. It’s just time. Big changes afoot. Check out the new website at mfrancismcarthy.art, lots of videos there, really easy to scroll through. Why Paint...
I often joke on the channel that I’m a card-carrying member of Vignetteers Anonymous. I got a problem. I got a real bad problem. I love to vignette. I think it’s so powerful. And this talk probably won’t be that long because it’s...
Join me as I create a tonalist riff inspired by Francis Murphy’s “Evening” In the Substack studio pass area, I put up a study from 2021, a painting called “Evening” by Francis Murphy. It got me thinking, I really like that old painting....
Welcome to another tonal landscape oil painting demonstration. This is your painter in residence, Michael Francis McCarthy. And the painting I’m bringing you today is called “Riff on Francis Murphy, Evening.” I painted this back in September of 2025 and I’ve been sitting...
Welcome to Easel Talk #36! Big shapes. This is going to be good, and it ties directly to our last talk on modulation. They go hand in hand, though big shapes are way more important. We’re talking composition today, while modulation handles value...
The painting I’m bringing you today, Light on the Path. It’s a 5×7, was painted last week, and I’m really happy to show it to you today. New Website I want to mention my new website: mfrancismccarthy.art. It’s my hub—where things are consolidating....