Social Media is BAD!
Social media has been on my mind for a long time. I think it’s an incredibly destructive force in modern human culture. Let’s get into the reasons why, and some of the solutions. I’m not an expert on social media. I’m just a...
Riff on Francis Murphy: Full Live Painting Session!
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....
Riff on Francis Murphy: 15 Minute Painting Demonstration!
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...
A Landscape Painter Guide to Painting Big Shapes – Easel Talk #36
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...
How to Use AI
A Vision-Driven Approach to Creative Practice Hello, welcome to another talk. This is your host, Michael Francis McCarthy. The topic for today is my ideas about the correct place for AI in a creative practice. Mostly we’ll be talking about visual stuff here....
Light on the Path: 15 Minute Painting Demonstration
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....
Light on the Path: Full Live Painting Session!
Transcription and key Insights I’ve already mixed the underpainting color: burnt umber with a significant amount of Mars black. I’m doing this partly for time savings. I recently painted a sky scene using this Mars black mixture, and it worked well. The key...
A Landscape Painters Guide to Modulation Easel Talk 35
What Is Modulation? The definition: also known as gradation. It is always desirable in painting to modulate colors from cool to warm, from dark to light or from one hue to the next. Instead of just laying down a flat, unmodulated color, you...
Beacon – Music by Black Wren
Music by Black Wren When the night grows deep and the shadows call, sometimes all you need is a beacon to guide you home. Black Wren is a collaboration between Michael Francis McCarthy and Jennifer L Coward Buy the track on Bandcamp: When...
The Modern Creator Dilemma: Why I’m the Anti-Influencer
Today’s talk is about the modern creator dilemma, mostly on YouTube, but this applies to any platform. How the Machine Turns Us Into Machines The biggest problem with the current setup is that the corporate machine is turning human beings into machines. Let’s...