Definition of Plein Air
Plein Air
Adjective
1 : Term for a style of painting by pretentious
artists to sound even more pretentious and
gatekeep even more art from the public
… Real Definition of Plein Air
Ok, that’s not true (mostly), I will someday stop taking cheap shots at the French, but that’s not today.
Here is the proper definition of plein air.
Plein Air
Adjective
1a : of or relating to painting in outdoor daylight
1b : of or relating to a branch of impressionism
that attempts to represent outdoor light and air
Plein air is the action of
painting outside.
Painting outside is so amazing.
You want to be there in the moment, comfortable in the moment, working on your painting. And only thinking about the painting.
To do this, it is important to be aware of what are tools are, and what they can do.
So let’s check our tools.
Tool Review
- Brushes (Keep it to two for now, one round and one flat)
- Fresh water (I like to keep a water bottle of fresh water for me to drink and to pour into my watercup)
- Towel or paper towels
- Paper (100% cotton)
- Paints in a palette with mixing areas
Create a paint sample card
Having a sample of what your color looks like is important in the field, you don’t have paper to spare.
Painting Approach
These steps are to help you organize your thoughts and help you choose shapes and color for the painting.
So many things are happening in the world around us, let’s organize those items, and simplify them so we can paint them with fun and care.
- Click to view full-size version of image
- Click the caption to view original artist’s page
How do we pick out what to focus on?
Simplify your scene into groups of objects.
I”ve outlined the steps below. You can also download a single sheet to take with you.
- Be comfortable
Enjoy where you are, the stresses of the day aren’t a concern, it’s about making a peaceful connection with what is in front of you at this moment.
- Identify subject,
break into 3–7 objects
The sky and ground are always two objects. A tree is an object, a group of trees is one object. In this example, I have 6 items because I grouped the houses into 1 shape.
- Decide how big important object should be on page
- Draw/dot 3–7 items onto paper with lightish color (yellow ochre is a good choice for this)
- Put in a light color on
all 3–7 items
Use yellows, greens, and light browns for most things, use a blue you like for the sky
- mix dark shadow colors Putting in the shadows help define your shapes and tree textures! Don’t forget shadows on the ground.
Advice: Don’t sweat the details!
Trying to paint all sorts of little nooks and crannies will drive you crazy, especially when painting smaller as a lot of beginner plein air painters do.
Focus on the big shapes, and add a little texture to capture that feeling of natural items in your painting. Don’t focus on details until step 5, then you can focus
photo reference
- Adam Kool
https://unsplash.com/photos/landmark-photography-of-trees-near-rocky-mountain-under-blue-skies-daytime-ndN00KmbJ1c - Bailey Zindel
https://unsplash.com/photos/body-of-water-surrounded-by-trees-NRQV-hBF10M - Damiano Baschiera
https://unsplash.com/photos/bed-of-orange-flowers-d4feocYfzAM - Joel Holland
https://unsplash.com/photos/aerial-photography-of-flowers-at-daytime-TRhGEGdw-YY - Sebastian Unrau
https://unsplash.com/photos/photo-of-muddy-road-in-forest-CoD2Q92UaEg - Qingbao Meng
https://unsplash.com/photos/birds-eye-view-photograph-of-green-mountains-01_igFr7hd4 - Lukasz Szmigiel
https://unsplash.com/photos/forest-trees-jFCViYFYcus - Simon Wilkes
https://unsplash.com/photos/river-beside-trees-and-grass-field-jlVEj8IDPQc
