4 Reasons to Try Painting En Plein Air
This past weekend I did something for the very first time: I painted en Plein Air. For those of you who are new to this term, painting en plein air essentially means, painting outdoors. It has been a popular artistic practice for centuries. And, many of the masters truly enjoyed this practice.
Given this was my first time, I learned a few things…such as, think through ALL of the materials you need before heading to your destination. I forgot several things, including tissues, which made cloud formations especially challenging. Moreover, we were out on a boat in the middle of the lake when I was painting, which meant I couldn’t just run inside and grab them when needed.
For those of you who are curious as to whether this is practice worth trying, here are some of the numerous benefits of painting en plein air and why it's worth venturing out into the great outdoors with your art supplies.
Greater Authenticity in Your Paintings: Painting en plein air gives you the opportunity to capture the natural world from direct observation. The ever-changing light, the subtle shifts in colors, and the movement of your subject matter (such as trees swaying in the wind) all contribute to creating a unique and vibrant visual experience. By painting on location, you can observe and study the details that photographs often fail to capture accurately. And it reinforces being present in the moment and immersing yourself in your environment, which means you’ll be able to depict the scene with a greater sense of depth, and authenticity.
Increased Observational Skills: When you are trying to capture something in the moment, you are challenged to observe and interpret your surroundings in real-time. With Plein Air, you are forced to work quickly due to the changing light conditions and other factors. This increases your confidence as a paper and increases your ability to prioritize the various elements of your compositions. All of this leads to strengthened observational skills and an ability to more efficiency and accurately capture your subject.
Enhanced Creativity and Artistry: Painting outdoors means spending time in the beauty and inspiration of nature. Being surrounded by the sights, sounds, and scents of the natural world can be invigorating and stimulating for artistic creativity. The exploration of different landscapes, seasons, and weather conditions provides endless opportunities for artistic growth, exploration, and experimentation, while also offering an opportunity to reconnect with the natural world.
Learn Simplification: Painting en plein air presents unique technical challenges (like weather changes, forgotten tools etc.). The need to work quickly and decisively encourages simplification of complex scenes, prioritization of focal points, and painting confidently. And with the ever changing environment fosters adaptability, problem-solving, and technical proficiency. The skills acquired through plein air painting, such as color mixing, capturing light and shadow, and conveying a sense of depth, can be applied to many other artistic projects.
Here are my paintings from the day. They were VERY simple…as you can see…hence #4 above. Also you can see where my clouds were not so great because I used my finger as a tissue…this tactic did not work (eye roll). I also painted small. I made two different attempts of the same scene, which allowed me to play with colors and techniques…wet on wet vs dryer techniques…and it forced me to stay loose.
All in all, I’m inspired to do more of this!
Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting your artistic journey, I highly recommend you consider trying this. You’ll get so much out of it.
Have you tried en Plein Air painting? Did you like it? What did you learn?