The Best Studio is Outside

In all seasons, the inspiration of the great outdoors calls me.

Early on in my painting journey, I took the plunge and showed up to my first plein air group meeting. Gosh, I was nervous. All the other artists knew what they were doing. Was I going to be able to paint something even remotely good in the wild, without the security of a temperature-controlled studio and an unchanging reference photo? Well, the outdoors was calling me, and there was something that felt very romantic about being under God’s canopy, pushing paint around while the birds sang and the wind blew around me. So, I answered that call and surprised myself. My first plein air painting wasn’t too bad, even with finding out right away that I was going to need some sort of shade and some way to keep my paints from drying out so quickly. And that group of artists that intimidated me? They were so welcoming and gave me advice and great, constructive criticism. They have now become such sweet friends.

What is plein air, you ask? The French expression means "in the open air" and refers to painting outdoors in order to capture the light and color of the scenery around you. It’s one of the best ways to learn how the atmosphere affects a landscape. Have you ever taken a photo only to look at your phone screen and be disappointed that it just didn’t capture what you saw? I’ve found that painting en plein air allows me to learn in the field and bring home what I saw in order to help the paintings I create in the studio.

And I’m getting braver. This summer I participated in a couple of plein air paint-outs. A paint-out is an event where artists paint en plein air for a specified number of days, and usually concludes with awards and a “wet paint” sale of the works created during the event (some of the work could still be wet if painted in oil or a medium that needs time to dry). During one of these events, the first morning was very rainy. Up until that point, I had never painted in the rain. But I couldn’t just NOT paint! The window for the paint-out was only a day and a half, so I made myself a little studio in the back of my car. With the hatch open, I had protection from the weather, but an unhindered view of the scene I was to paint. I loved the experience! Honestly, my little car studio was quite cozy.

So now, as fall is upon us and winter not far behind, I’m thinking about how I might attempt plein air painting in the colder months and even in snow!