What is Plein Air Painting?
What is plein air painting? Plein air painting is the act of painting outdoors in nature. Plein air painting is how many famous painters like Monet painted back in the day! I will answer what is plein air painting and give you some tips for painting outdoors below. To learn more about what plein air painting is, keep reading!
What is Plein Air Painting?
French impressionist painters like Claude Monet adapted the plein air painting method of taking their supplies and painting outdoors to capture the scene they were looking at. Impressionist painters had a desire to paint light and see how the light and shadows would change on a landscape throughout the course of time. “En plein air” is a French expression that translates to “in the open air.”
Today plein air painting is still popular as it is a great way to practice painting realistically and to practice your landscape painting.
What Supplies Do You Need for Plein Air Painting?
Overall, you want to think about where you are painting outdoors. Is it a simple walk in your backyard or a hike on some unstable rocks.Think about what you can carry and how you are going to carry it. You will also want to think about how long you are planning on painting outdoors and if you will need anything additional like sunscreen, bug spray, a hat, rain coat, snacks, water bottle etc.
Portable and lightweight easel
A palette with a lid
Small tubes of paint or paint prepared in your palette ahead of time with some extra paint
A cloth rag
Small piece of chalk or a pencil
Water and a container
A case to carry your brushes - take what you need
Canvas board, sketchbook or pad of paper to paint on
A camera or your phone to capture what you are painting in case you don’t finish your painting in time.
You can watch my video below on some tips for painting outdoors! Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss out on future painting videos!
Tips for Plein Air Painting
Consider the weather you are painting in
Take a photo of the scene you are painting
Let nature inspire you
Draw what you are painting first
Pay attention to the lighting and perspective
Move closer to what you are painting to capture the details
Pack lightly
Hopefully you have a better understanding of what is plein air painting?
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