Plein Air? It’s just painting outside, right?
Painting outside is Plein Air, it’s as simple as that, or is it?
Made possible by the invention of oil paint in tubes the French Impressionists of the 19th century perfected the craft (or sport) of plein air. I’ve been at it a couple of years now and learned quite a few very valuable lessons.
Be prepared for all weathers.
Be prepared for very cold hands, double gloves & handwarmers.
Be prepared for lots and lots of conversations with passing dog walkers.
Make decisions on shadows and light and stick with it.
Keep your hands clean or paint gets everywhere.
Plein Air at Micklebring last summer
My obsession with riding bikes ( on the road, none of this trendy gravel stuff for me) have morphed from full on training sessions with power and heart rate data to very mindful tours of the countryside scoping out future compositions. I am riding along making mental lists of good places to go and paint.
My Process.
I like to sketch - I love a mixed media approach using a Uniball drawing pen, W&N ink, water colour and acrylic paint all involved. My Pith Supplies Tangelo sketchbook gives a beautiful long landscape format that forces me to consider a wide angle view. It works well for me.
The sketch then leads on to an oil painting on a 6mm pink primed MDF board. I think the pink primer helps give a warmth to the painting.
And so as the cold, damp, miserable winter gave way to spring the hedgerows and fields burst into life. This year the rapeseed flowered ahead of schedule and as the sun finally came out I was straight out to paint.
Rapeseed at Leys Lane. Oil on Board. 30cm x 20cm
Every year crop rotation spreads the yellow to new fields, new compositions to paint. This view between Oldcoates and Dinnington was amazing. A beautiful sunny day, a cracking couple of hours painting that lovely yellow.
Another ride and another painting trip over to North Leverton, the old windmill vs not so old power station is a classic local view but that moody sky against the yellow rapeseed in the sun was amazing.
North Leverton Windmill & Rapeseed. Oil on Board. 30cm x 20cm.
Wisely or unwisely (time will tell!) I used this composition to produce a bigger scale painting as my entry for Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2024. This studio piece introduced texture to the rapeseed and hopefully shows that contrast with the old vs new power generation and the blues vs yellows of the sky and fields. I like the perspective that the tramlines in the crop bring to the composition, it leads the eye to the colour of the ploughed fields and the hint of the Lincolnshire Wolds in the distance.
Windmills, Rapeseed & Power Stations. Oil on Board. 61cm x 30xm
So Plein Air painting is harder than it looks, it takes a bit of persistence to cope with the weather, changing light, the passing public, dogs, flies ( I hate flies ) and keeping things clean. BUT it is massively rewarding, it brings a spontaneity and freshness to the work and most importantly underlines that connection with the landscape, true mindfulness.
I recommend giving it a go.
