What the heck is en plain air?
En plein air is French for “in the open air”. In reference to painting, it means painting outdoors, directly from nature. You may recall that is what the Barbizon and Impressionist painters were doing. The availability of paint in tubes made this possible. Before tubes were available, artist had to grind their own pigments in advance of a painting session. This would not be very convenient for working in the field. Now it seems there is an endless supply of gear, gadgets and gizmos marketed toward the plein air painter.
For me, plein air painting is about responding to the environment I am in, and completing the painting in one session. The light and weather change quickly in New Mexico, so I try to work fast. A couple of hours is usually the most time I have, before the light changes too much. I do not try to mimic everything I see. I try to determine what caught my attention about this particular view, and then build the painting around that element. It might be an interesting shape, or a particular color, or something else. Sometimes I don’t know what it is, until I have started painting. Occasionally, I will make changes once I am back at home, but usually not. Often, I will think the painting I made is terrible, and a failure. After a few days, I take another look. Some of these have turned out to be favorites.
Posted in Plein air. Updated July 8th, 2010. 1 comment so far.
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