What is Plein Air
Plein Air painting is the act of painting outside. It’s a french term. It sounds fancy. Sometimes fancy or unusual words sounds like something we can’t do.
But we can do it.
Everyone has the right and ability to paint happily outdoors.
I will give you the information so you can:
- make sense of what you see
- make choices to simplify the scene
- use your paint to show what’s in light and what’s in shadow.
So last week we reviewed our process. I want to answer any questions on how to get these things of any questions you have.
The main technique to help with this is the measuring technique with your brush/pencil and thumb. The following videos explain it well.
Before you start, you need to choose what’s your ‘most important item’ is, and put some rough marks on your paper to make the rough size.
If you feel that’s not good enough, pull out your sketchbook, and do a rough sketch of the scene using the measuring technique, get your ‘most important item’ on the page and draw the extra items, like you’re doing step 2 from the handout, but on your sketchbook. If the things you want in the piece can’t fit on the page, you need to make the ‘most important item’ smaller.
If there is just too much extra space/stuff in the work, make the ‘most important item’ larger.
Going through the whole process.
Let’s go through the entire handout, steps 0–5.
Step 0 – Be Comfortable
I’m on a walk in Mattis Park near Neil St. in Champaign. I am not worrying or thinking about other things. I’m present with the water and the lake. Maybe this means something different from you.
There have been a couple times I’ve just sat by a tree, or sat by the bench until I noticed something that I thought was beautiful. I didn’t necessarily paint it, but I was focusing my energy on the environment, instead of problem-solving whatever I got in my life.
Letting yourself to find something cool or unique in the space gets you familiar and
Step 1 – Identify subject, break into 3–7 objects
I find this view that I like from the bridge. I start in my head or in my sketchbook identifying what my 3 to 7 items can be.
Here is one way that you can break it down:
- Sky
- Water
- Ground/Grass
- Foreground pine tree
- Rest of trees
- Apartment building
Maybe you want to group the trees together, so there are only 5 objects. Maybe there is something on the ground that you want to make sure is separate, that’s fine, just keep it under 7.
Step 2 – Decide how big important object should be on page
If you haven’t done a version in your sketchbook yet, do it now. Get a rough idea of the size and make sure the items you want to see are included. Use your measuring technique for more information on how wide or tall or how far away items are from each other.
When using the measuring technique, here are a few good ones I would use. This is not necessarily all, but it covers 80% of what I need help with to draw.
- Get your starting item, this is the items you’ll compare all the other lengths and widths against.
- How long this piece of land comes out from the side, it’s about 3.5 of my starting item, the tree.
- How high that piece of land is from the bottom of the drawing, it’s about 2 trees.
- How far away the building is from the tree.
Maybe you’ll only take 3 measurements. Maybe you’ll need to take 3-4 measurements, then 2-3 more. Whatever helps you place these items on the page.
Step 3 – Draw and/or dot the 3–7 items onto paper
Let’s get some guides on your watercolor paper!
If you’ve done a drawing on your sketchbook, you can use that as a plan to put those lines/dots on the paper.
If you haven’t done any drawing in your sketchbook, get it on the watercolor paper now.
Step 4 – Put in a light color on all 3–7 items
Now to begin the actual painting! We want to paint a light color. Usually with a tea paint, but sometimes as dark as a coffee paint.
I don’t want you to worry about the precise color. It’s more putting a light color here to be for what that item looks like in the light.
Normally this will be a light color for the light hitting some trees or grass. and a light color of the water and the blue of the sky.
BIG TIP: Make the color for any green items a LIGHTER GREEN than you might first think.
NOTE: This is called the UGLY STAGE of a watercolor. It’s bland, flat, and just… looks like boring blobs of colors instead of just trees, a bush, or a stretch of grass.
Trust me, as you get step 5 onto the page, the items you see will come into focus.
Step 5 – Mix and paint dark shadow colors
The dark color will make things pop! It’ll make the items FEEL like trees, rocks, and all the things we see.
You only need to mix 1 or 2 dark colors.
I start at one mix, usually a very dark green/blue. Then when I get to some other items and realize that mix would feel odd with that item(s), I’ll make another, like a dark brown, or a dark purple.
A dark green can be made with Viridian and Permanent Rose, you can add Ultramarine Blue if you want it bluer.
Another dark green is Sap Green, Ultramarine Blue, and Permanent Rose.
Another good dark color is Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna.
Practice Prompt
Go to a park, or hang out in a yard or anywhere outside that you can see natural things like trees, water, or green areas. (if weather is less than ideal, your car works great!)
Practice doing steps 0–3 a couple times, use your sketch book to record what you do.
Do one version where you go through all steps 0–5.
