How to Get Started with Plein Air Painting

Mar 22, 2021

Spring Has sprung.


That means, ready or not,  it's time to get outside and start plein air painting. 



Plein Air should be a sport

My whole body ached during and afterwards, so why keep painting outside?

  • It's not about achieving perfection.
  • It's about being in the moment, in real live life!
  • It's about feeling and observing with all of your senses.
  • It's about interacting with your surroundings in a new way.
  • It's about the challenge of enduring the elements while attempting to record what you see.
  • Like running, it's not always comfortable or enjoyable while you are doing it, but that discomfort, that challenge to finish something despite your discomfort, that's what makes you feel alive!!!

PHYSICAL

Holding your body still in order to paint takes a bit of yoga/like strength. It's important to stretch, and change positions often.  If the wind is blowing, like it was yesterday, one often has to be able to simultaneously  hold down paper, palette, and maintain balance in order to paint with a steady hand. At least if you go out and decide to sit on the pavement in your garden, with nothing more than your supplies!

SOCIAL
Plein air painting can be a fun activity to do with a friend, plus passersby are naturally curious, and will want to see what you are working on.  It's a fun way to interact with others and the world around you.  I am toying around with the idea of seeing if any of my creative friends and neighbors would want to paint with me some time. Plein air painting for creatives is like playing cards or golf for others...an excuse to get together and hang out, be social! For some reason, it's easier to talk when you have an activity going on.

MENTAL
Plein air painting is also mentally challenging, because one has to decide what to include in the painting while being bombarded with a plethora of visual stimuli, plus environmental factors, like wind gusts, temperature changes, constantly changing light, and social interruptions.  Yesterday, it would be calm and warm one minute, and then a huge gust of wind would pop up the next. Friends and neighbors were passing by, my dog popping up to sniff me, my son practicing fishing in the yard and watching him try to untangle the line and get it down from the tree, etc.

SUNSHINE
Experiencing the spring sunlight washing over you, and feeling the warmth of the pavement feels so good after a long cold Iowa winter.  It is also so much more rewarding to be able to record what you see in the form of a painting from real life.  Your colors are recorded more accurately, unless you are an amazing photographer.  Your paintings are more spontaneous, and will end up feeling more full of life! 

So go ahead, get out there!  Even if it's just for a little bit, out on your front stoop, like I did, you will feel alive, and like you did something!

Be Ready to go When The mood Strikes

To Get Started, You'll Need

This is a bare bones list for if you are going to paint with watercolor, gouache, or acrylic.  

Water & Snacks

Water to drink, and water for your spray bottle and rinsing cup.  Snacks, well, we always need snacks!

backpack

Keep supplies always at the ready. I sometimes just keep this in my vehicle, so that I'm ready any time anywhere!

Paper & Masking Tape

I have a pad of 300gsm watercolor paper for my gouache paintings, which is what I used yesterday.

Framing Mat

I like to attach a mat with masking tape to make sure that I am keeping my painting at a standard size, so that it will be easy to frame later.  Here, I used a mat that will fit into an 8x10 frame, with a 5x7 opening for the painting.

Plastic Sheet

I don't tear out my paper from the pad, so that it won't blow away.  Since I am using water, I like to have a sheet of plastic under the paper I am painting on so that the sheets below won't get wet. 

Napkins

I keep a roll of paper towels in my vehicle, and take a few in my backpack for wiping my hands, or blotting excess paint or water from my brushes or my painting.

Brushes

Keep them in a pouch. I had to keep them in the backpack to prevent from blowing away, yesterday.

spray bottle & Cup

For misting your palette to keep paint from drying out, and rinsing brushes.

Paint

It's nice to have a little box like the one pictured to the left, so you don't have to waste time squeezing paint out of tubes.

Tripod chair and Easel

If you prefer to not sit directly on the ground, there are lots of lightweight chairs and easels that are easy to transport.  I sat on the ground in order to be at eye level with the crocus flowers. They are only a few inches tall!

Dress appropriately...or keep an apron handy

Aside from the list above, all you need is to remember to dress comfortably, and in layers so that you can adjust as the weather changes.  If you want to paint even when you aren't dressed in paint clothes, I would suggest keeping an apron, smock or old shirt in your backpack too. Some people also use an umbrella, so that they can shade their paper, making it easier to see. If you are painting in your own garden, you have much less to prepare, because you can always change your clothes or get a snack any time!