Before Kevin Macpherson picks up a brush, he looks. Really looks.

“Look for something red,” the New Mexico oil painter tells his workshop students. “The next day, look up. The day after that, look down. Challenge the way you see. Force yourself to view the world around you in a new, unfamiliar way.”

“Perugia” (watercolor, 11 x 14 in.) by Kevin Macpherson

It’s advice Macpherson lives by. Internationally known for his paintings and his seminal book on painting in series, Reflections on a Pond, he has always considered himself an artist first and a painter second. The distinction matters. For Macpherson, seeing isn’t a preliminary step to making art — it is the art.

“Sea of Cortez Fish” (watercolor, 11 x 14 in.) by Kevin Macpherson

That philosophy shows up everywhere in his practice. When he heads out to paint plein air, he doesn’t set out with a destination or subject in mind. “When I go out, I don’t think ‘mountains’ or ‘beach’; I just go looking,” he says. “I let my eyes wander and accept shapes and colors that combine to form inspiring abstract compositions. Those abstract shapes host reality.”

“California Valle” (oil, 36 x 72 in.) by Kevin Macpherson

The same eye that finds a painting in a coastal landscape finds one in a rock on the beach, a shadow on a wall, or mold creeping down the corner of a building. Macpherson photographs all of it — not as reference material, but as finished work in its own right. “The photo is the art,” he says simply. “I’ve really been enjoying the exploration of photography as a medium in itself, especially in terms of looking for abstraction.”

“Angel” (oil, 24 x 36 in.) by Kevin Macpherson

What separates these images from snapshots is the quality of attention behind them. Moving five feet to the right can transform a composition. Shifting three inches in one direction removes an unwanted doorknob from the frame. “How could one imagine all the compositions that nature offers us?” he asks. “I could never be that creative. But nature inspires me to explore.”

“Antigua Plaza” (oil, 11 x 14 in.) by Kevin Macpherson

For Macpherson, this kind of seeing isn’t a skill reserved for professionals — it’s something anyone can cultivate. “Students will ask, ‘How do I find my style?’ Just see,” he says. “Artists need to find something that really interests them, then go for it, and see where it leads.”

The rest, he suggests, takes care of itself.

The good news: this kind of seeing can be learned. Join Kevin Macpherson at his pre-convention oil workshop at the Plein Air Convention in May, where he’ll take you inside his renowned Magic Grid system — showing you how to see, compose, and paint painterly paintings with confidence and clarity.

P.S. Check out Kevin Macpherson’s new video workshop, Paint Painterly Paintings, to unlock your visual vocabulary!