The Plein Air Zone

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How To

June 2010 "Structures in Oil"

May 2010 "Structures"

April 2010 "One of a Kind"

March 2010 "Nocturnes"

February 2010 "Let it Snow"

January 2010 Sweet Mystery: Part Two

December 2009 Sweet Mystery: Part One

November 2009 Organizing Chaos

October 2009 Saving the Best for Last

September 2009 Letting the Paint Work for You

August 2009 Watercolor: Teaching the Unteachable

June 2009 "Sketchbooks"

April 2009 "East Meets West"

Feb 2009 “Establishing a Focal Point”

Jan 2009 “Craftsmanship”

Dec 2008 “Another Approach”

Nov 2008 “The Incidence of Angle”

Oct 2008 “Back to the Basics”

Sept 2008 “As Clear as Mud”

Aug 2008 “Compartmentalizing Your Washes”

June 2008 “Lemons to Lemonade”

May 2008 “Las Flores de la Mancha”

March 2008 “Narrative Painting”

Dec. 2007 “Painting Out Of Your Head”

Sept. 2007  “Contours and Shapes”

Oct. 2007 “Contours and Shapes – Part Two”

Nov. 2007 “Contours and Shapes – Part Three”

July 2007 “Knowing Your Palette”

June 2007 “Giving Yourself An Edge”

Art of the Sketchbook

June 2009 "Sketchbooks"

Jan. 2007 “Art on the Road”

Oct. 2006 “Utilizing Your Sketches”

Sept. 2006  “The Art of the Sketchbook”

Musings

April 2010 "One of a Kind"

April 2008 “Who’s Responsible?”

Aug 2007 “Developing a Style”

May 2007 “The Intangibles”

Feb. 2007 “Painting the California Coast”

Dec. 2006 “Reflections”

The Business of Art

Apr. 2007 “The Gallery Scene”

March 2007 “Beginning Your Professional Art Career”

Art History

March 2010 "Nocturnes"

July 2008 “En Plein Air Painting – Then and Now”

Feb. 2008 “Harvey Dunn and Dean Cornwell – Some insights into their working methods”

Jan 2008 “The Golden Age of Illustration”

Nov. 2006  “Sargent Watercolors”

 July 2008

En Plein Air Painting - Then and Now

In 1824 the Salon de Paris held an exhibition of paintings by John Constable. His rural landscapes created quite a stir. It was the first time that the landscape had become an actual subject, rather than a backdrop to some dramatic event. Constable’s paintings influenced a whole generation of young artists, who abandoned their studios and took to the fields to draw their inspiration directly from nature.

It was the age of Romanticism, and the nineteenth century would see a plethora of notable artists, such as Corot, Millet, Turner, Serov, Repin, Sargent, Zorn, Sorolla and, of course, the Impressionist contingent head for the countryside, using nature as a stimulus for both personal growth and expression in their art.

As a young, aspiring artist, I not only felt the influence of these outdoor painters of the past, but also many contemporary artists, like Richard Schmid, Bill Reese, Paul Strisik, Walt Gonske and Rod Goebel. I seemed to know instinctively that if I wanted to grow as an artist, the quickest route would be to take my paints right to the source and coax nature to reveal her secrets through direct experience.

So I, and another neophyte artist (or two), would grab our French easels, and strike out for the arroyos and mountains of northern New Mexico. We called it going “on location” (the phrase “en plein air” hadn’t yet entered the art vernacular). Although successes were minimal and frustrations plentiful, they were good times, and I experienced a gradual transformation in my work. “On location” painting seemed to be the surest route from point A to point B. (Richard Schmid once confided that, during his seven years in Connecticut, he painted two outdoor paintings each day, regardless of the weather. That’ll get your chops down).

Because I spent some time cultivating outdoor painting skills, I have subsequently been able to take my oils and watercolors all over the world to capture material for future studio paintings. There’s no substitute for direct experience. The light and atmosphere is different in each country, and a camera just can’t capture those subtleties. You can’t beat your own eyes for recording the truth.

Anyway, something weird seems to have happened in the last fifteen years or so. Instead of a means to an end, “en plein air” painting has become an end in itself. I’m not inferring that one can’t hit a home run “on location” (just take a look at the beautiful works of Clyde Aspevig, Matt Smith or Scott Christensen), but somehow there’s a perception that anything done “en plein air” is good and worthy. This delusion has pummeled the public with heaps of inferior work labeled as good because it was painted “en plein air”.

It’s hardly surprising, considering there seems to be a plein air society in every burg in the United States, with plein air exhibitions, quick draws and paint-outs, where they even stamp your panel (in case you decide you can do something better in your hotel room).

There is a silver lining in this “en plein air” phenomenon. There’s a whole lot more artists out there exploring nature and honing their skills in the open air, and that’s a sure formula for artistic growth. It’s an effort to take one’s painting materials and go out and confront a landscape, and that effort will reap rewards and should be applauded. Nonetheless, an artist should not be deluded into thinking that the result of that effort is good just because it’s painted “en plein air”.

About one out of every ten of my field paintings is “frame worthy”. I don’t look at the other nine as failures, but rather as stepping-stones in my artistic growth process. Each “on location” painting is a challenge and adds a little more ammunition to my technical arsenal. “On location” work seems to have an energy that’s difficult to duplicate in the studio. Many of my “less than satisfactory” field paintings have become ideas for successful studio pieces.

So, keep going out into nature to draw your inspiration and sharpen your skills. She will teach you all you need to know about drawing, values, color and edges. But, be discriminatory! A good painting is a “good” painting whether you paint in indoors, outdoors, on your head or with your feet. And be aware that the same thing applies to “bad” paintings as well.

Below are a watercolor sketch and a recent oil painting that ensued, using the sketch as my model.

Happy painting!