Michael Francis McCarthy

Today I’m working on a 6×8 painting based on a scene I’ve painted many times before. It’s from a field in England. I’ve done versions of this composition so many times that I know it works. Every painting I’ve done from this reference...

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...

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...