Class Notes: Why Plein air?

The last couple of years have seen a big explosion of the "plein air" phenomenon. Everybody's doing it!  And to stay in step, or to keep up with the trend, some are - that shouldn't and many should that aren't.
So what's it about?
If you aren't familiar with the term- it simply means to paint out doors/on site.
As a kid, painting and drawing at the back yard picnic table, it would not have occurred to me to do anything else but try to make images based on what I could see. In college, the best classes sent student artists tramping into forest and field, to the docks or downtown to make the best of what was in front of them. The lessons of direct observation were hammered out back in studios, but it all started with learning to see.
Whether painting en plein air (outdoors), from a live model, or from a still life set up in front of you, direct observation reveals things that cannot be seen or gained from photography or taught by any other means.
This was the whole idea that drove the Impressionists into the landscape, seeing from LIFE. That particular group of painters called Impressionists, did work defined by Webster's as a "style of late 19th-century, characterized by short brush strokes of bright colors".
Whoa! That is a pretty terse definition for a group of artists who were actually less technique driven but gave us the philosophical ideas about artists - that today, we take for granted.  The Impressionist ideas of artistic freedom - not defined by politics or fashion, propelled art and artists into the Modern age. But I digress. . . .
They were impelled by the need to SEE, not rely on the formulas of the past that had long since parted ways from anything having to do with direct observation.
Recently, I participated in an outdoor quick draw and met a local artist doing the event because they felt they SHOULD- for self promotion. What a shame. And YES- that artist SHOULD have been painting outside - more because their studio work lacked freshness or the breadth of light and color variation that comes form outdoor observation.  For this artist, it was all about getting on the "plein air" band wagon, instead of using landscape observation to improve the studio work.  Maybe we all do that sometimes; we hitch our wagon to a current trend.

So the question I ask myself is: Why PLEIN AIR?  If for its own sake - we are just a bunch of painters, taking studio formulas and standing in the landscape.
There IS a real benefit to going out doors. I don't want to forget that next time I am scrambling to get my name in print or jockeying for position with a group of painters lined up for a event photo.


This plein air piece done in the Rockies last year, sold out of my studio this week - that's a good thing - but I had planned to enter it into a gallery show this August. Hmmmm. . .
So, my intention is to recreate it in the studio, from the sketch.
The challenge here is to resist the desire to "fix" things but make it true to the original in freshness and life;  that may prove harder than it seems.
. . . and ps. it will not be billed as a plein air painting. That fact to me is incidental but I will try to capture that plein air vigor.

LaVeta Workshop

I had a great time last week, teaching a 1 day workshop in LaVeta. My students were all accomplished but had not ever worked out in the landscape, en plein air. This is the best kind of student -  motivated for information with skills under their belts. I have found however, even long time painters can struggle in the landscape.
How does one see, analyze, and synthesize information- do it quickly and apply it to canvas in a way that creates a reasonable composition- and in the end a reasonable rendering of the subject?
Ah, there's the rub. . .  everyone looks at the landscape, not everyone sees it.
In the morning we talked about materials and method (I am big on method) and how to see composition in the landscape, with the help of a 2 value sketch.
A workshop teacher can yak all day about color and light in the landscape but learning how to see the landscape for what is possible - is where I like to start with students.
The view I used for demo was front lit and a little flat. In the 2 value sketch I work out the large value shapes; meaning I create the shapes from what is in the view. At this point, there is no right or wrong, just better and best. Another artist may see and work out a totally different value pattern with the same view; the point is - to see it and WORK it out- in a sketch.
By working out my thoughts early on, and making decisions about how to handle the value shapes - later when the light has changed, I will be less likely to chase it.
Of course, that is only the nutshell version of the morning . . .
Below is my demo, and probably one of my quickest, ever. It is only a 9"x 12", but once I had the sketch worked out, the painting took less that an hour.

Stepping Up Your Game, LaVeta Plein Air Event

Are you a painter, maybe a student painter, trying to gain confidence?

 I am addressing my students mostly, but if that title rings a bell for you, try stretching your skills a bit and think about entering a plein air event this summer. In Colorado there are small, non-juried events all summer in almost every part of the state. They attract local artists and sometimes a big fish will enter and raise the bar a bit, but getting your feet wet at a small event can do wonders for your confidence. These events help encourage artists, not discourage them and if you are willing to submit, and later allow the judge to critique your work -
in my opinion, that is worth the price of admission.

The LaVeta Plein Air Event is just such an event.  Hosted by the Spanish Peaks Arts Council, it is Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16 and the registration fee is very small.
Each artist has their supports (canvas, panels or whatever) marked at registration on Friday morning and then they head out into the landscape to paint. On Saturday afternoon artists frame the work that they want to enter into the show, and yes the work is framed wet.  At 2 pm all the work is turned in and hung in the gallery for judging and the weekend wraps up with an awards reception on Saturday evening - with cash awards, food, the camaraderie of fellow painters and the knowledge that you have stepped up to a new level.
Click this link to Spanish Peaks Arts Council for information and registration.