Plein Air Painting
What is Plein Air Painting?
“En plein air” comes from the French meaning “in the open air”. This is the practice of artists who leave their studios to work outside directly from nature. It became a popular method with the French Impressionists who wanted to capture the effects of light at specific moments in time. For a long time, landscape painters with their subjects of land, sea and sky work outdoors for their studies and sketches for art work they usually made in their studio on a larger scale and in a more finished way.
Today plein air painting is recognized as an art form all in itself. The usually smaller pieces are completed in short work sessions outdoors. Plein air artists work in any media with oil paint, watercolor and pastels being most common. The challenge is working on sight with time being limited by the changing position of the sun. The reward is capturing a specific place and time and enjoying first hand, with all the senses, the beauty of a specific place and then being able to share that with others.
“En plein air” comes from the French meaning “in the open air”. This is the practice of artists who leave their studios to work outside directly from nature. It became a popular method with the French Impressionists who wanted to capture the effects of light at specific moments in time. For a long time, landscape painters with their subjects of land, sea and sky work outdoors for their studies and sketches for art work they usually made in their studio on a larger scale and in a more finished way.
Today plein air painting is recognized as an art form all in itself. The usually smaller pieces are completed in short work sessions outdoors. Plein air artists work in any media with oil paint, watercolor and pastels being most common. The challenge is working on sight with time being limited by the changing position of the sun. The reward is capturing a specific place and time and enjoying first hand, with all the senses, the beauty of a specific place and then being able to share that with others.
Plein Air Artist Statement
I love the adventure and challenge of working in plein
air. It is a mini camping trip with art
supplies and gear to capture the most interestingly beautiful view I can find
in three hours or less. Like a speed
drill in math measuring speed and accuracy, working outdoors forces me to
sharpen my skills and give up on fussy perfectionism. I love the meditative focus needed to see the
different light and shadows in the landscape.
In these quiet refreshing moments, I paint to be a cheerleader for all
the beauty I see around me in God’s creation.
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