“Toward Otter Point”
oil on canvas
16 x 20 in.
About the Artist:
Michael Chesley Johnson is one of the 26 artists who participated in this year’s Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, which took place at the South Rim of Grand Canyon September 10-17, 2016. Now in its 8th year, the plein air event features artists painting at various locations around and in the Canyon. The exhibit and sale of their work at Kolb Studio on the South Rim will continue through January 16, 2017. The exhibit is open daily and is free and open to the public.
For this year’s Celebration of Art honoring the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service, the artists were encouraged to submit a studio painting of any of the national parks. As Johnson divides his time between coastal Maine and Cornville, Arizona, he chose to paint Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park.
Speaking about “Toward Otter Point” Johnson says: “I have been hiking and painting there for decades, but my favorite vista is of Otter Point. It hasn’t lost any of its ruggedness since explorer Samuel de Champlain struck a ledge there in 1604. I wanted to depict the bright haze of a later summer’s day, when the sun still shines full power through the thin mist.”
Elected a Master Pastellist by Pastel Artists Canada in 2008, Johnson is also a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society and the Pastel Society of America as well as a juried member of Oil Painters of America.
For more information and a schedule of events please visit:
https://www.grandcanyon.org/arts-and-culture/2017-celebration-art
Contact Kathy Duley [email protected] 480.277.0458
