Transcript and Key Insights It’s your painter in residence, Michael Francis McCarthy. Today I think I’m a little ahead of schedule because instead of scrolling through Reddit this morning, I decided to go through my mounds of reference material. I didn’t know exactly...
Transcript and Key Insights Welcome to Easel Talk number 53. I hope you enjoyed our anniversary episode #52 last week; it was perhaps a little rambly, sorry about that, but there are valuable insights all the way through. If you are here for...
Transcript and Key Insights The painting I’m bringing you today is called Light Through the Trees. It’s a 5×7 painted last week, and I really like this painting. I hope you like watching me put it together. This is the sped-up version of...
I’m creating a tonalist painting based on a California landscape reference I took almost 20 years ago. The original photo captured early morning light filtering through an oak forest, and I’ve simplified the complex scene to focus on what matters, light, shadow, and...
Welcome back to another installment of my 15-Minute Painting Sessions! In this edition, I’m excited to share with you the process behind “River’s Edge,” a 7×12-tonal landscape oil painting that I completed last week. The Inspiration and Challenges This piece is a revisit...
I’ve been in this studio since 2011, roughly 15 years now. We’re over 10 years into the channel, and this 52nd Easel Talk marks a full year of weekly conversations about painting. The Foundation: Process Over Mastery Painting isn’t hard, and it isn’t...
Transcript and Key Insights Good morning, evening, or afternoon. It’s your painter in residence, Michael Francis McCarthy. And I’m going to be painting an all-in-a-row scene with some strategies for alleviating that. It’s a pond scene with trees, blue sky, give or take....
Hello and welcome to another Tonal Landscape Oil Painting Demonstration. Today, I’m your painter in residence, Michael Francis McCarthy, bringing you a piece called The Wading River. This four-by-six-inch painting was completed last week and exemplifies the Tonalist style. In this demonstration, I’ll...
Transcript and Key Insights The reference image came from a multi-step process using modern tools. I used AI image generation to help compose what would otherwise just be an empty field that doesn’t work visually on its own. I cut out a section...
Many aspiring painters fall into the same trap: they believe masterpieces simply emerge from natural talent. This misconception paralyzes them. They sketch grand visions, a 4×6 painting of hedgehogs at an amusement park, meticulously planned, worked on for years, but never finish because...