Thoughts on Plein Air Painting
Why DO We Do It?
“Morning Overcast and Lily Pads” 9x12 oil on linen
I hope you are well and enjoying the season of summer!
These long beautiful days seem to come and go all too quickly and each year I have a list of things in my head that I wish I would have done come fall. So this summer I had a plan! I entered with the intention to be present and savor the moments by studying light and nature with my colors on somewhat of a planned schedule as to not miss out. This plan is to primarily paint outside - in the field, by the pond, along the marsh and river banks - and, wherever else nature pulls me. So far, one of the most thrilling parts of painting this summer have been the paintings I had no idea existed! The ones where I thought I was done for the day, began packing up, only to turn around and see THE scene! Then grabbed my brush and began a vigorous attempt to capture it before the moment had come and gone!
The scene below is of my painter friends holding multiple umbrellas for me doing just that. It was getting HOT, BUGGY, and I thought I was cooked for the day, until I turned around. Everything went into the subconscious and I began throwing paint. This plein air study will be inspiration and information for a future studio piece, most likely next winter. I grabbed all the essential color notes to assist me in the studio on a larger painting. Which brings me to my next thought, on plein air painting. I feel compelled to share with you what plein air painting is for me.
With all the Plein Air events, competitions, awards, heck there are even frames called ‘Plein air frames’. It might leave room for one to wonder if Plein Air Painting is a ‘style’? To me it is not, and to most painters who spend their lives out of doors studying color and light first hand, it certainly is not. But rather, a deep desire to be there in the elements, studying light and color first hand. Experiencing whatever nature’s temperament of the day might be. And through this process we might find our voice, our authentic truth through expression and communication with paint.
My plein air paintings are simply places I want to be, pieces of nature that make me so curious, that I desire to make an attempt to ‘figure it out’ . . . I’m still on that quest by the way.
The value of Plein Air painting IS rich, do I mean monetarily? Well, depending on the human whom painted it was, it sure might be! But that’s not the value I speak of here. I speak of the invaluable learning experience and LIFE ENRICHING experience, that can never, never be taken from the artist, and only add to each painting in the future. Painting in the immersion of nature will certainly inform and inspire, and often times frustrate. But with each of these experiences, one painting at a time, accumulates to something very rich. And something that I have no imagination to be without.
Thank you for being out there and for being part of this journey. Happy Painting, Happy Summering! Kami
It takes a village! Oh when the moment strikes and the sun is HOT and the only spot to stand is smack in the middle of it all. Fellow painters held umbrellas so I could vigorously grab the fleeing light and get the job done! This painting will end up being inspiration and information for a larger studio painting next winter. :) VERY excited about that!
