Introduction

Farm Country

En Plein Air

French for “in the open air,” en plein air has become the accepted term for painting out of doors.

Artists have been painting outdoors for ages. Most agree that it was the invention of the collapsible zinc paint tube by John Goffe Rand in 1841 that really jump-started the plein air movement. Prior to that, artists had to grind their own pigment into linseed oil and then keep the resulting mixture in glass jars—very inconvenient for carrying paint around. This changed with the invention of the capped tube. It became relatively easy for artists to carry a portable easel, a palette, a handful of brushes, and some tubes of color into the great outdoors.

The popularity of Impressionism and its practice of painting outdoors to capture the light and atmosphere of contemporary life gave rise to plein air painting as a movement. Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and their contemporaries all saw the benefit of painting from life outdoors. From the Barbizon School in France to the Hudson River School in New York, artists have discovered and rediscovered the value of painting en plein air.

Today there are thousands of painters worldwide who either work both in the studio and outdoors or are solely dedicated plein air artists. Some view painting outside as a hobby, and some use it as a tool to inform their studio work. There are also many professional plein air painters who view working outside as their ultimate goal. Galleries and other venues are now also dedicated to showing and promoting plein air work. There are hundreds of plein air “events,” some tightly juried; some invitation-only; and others that encourage anyone to sign up, come along, and paint. Plein air painting has become so popular that Eric Rhoads, publisher of Plein Air Magazine, has coined the movement “The New Golf.”

Some artists have gravitated toward painting outdoors because they grew up fishing, camping, or hiking and view painting outside as an extension of those activities. Others enjoy traveling to new locations and the social interaction of changing scenery and painting with other like-minded artists.

Whatever your motivation, there is no better time to start than now. Read along, learn some techniques, try out new ideas, and follow the demonstrations provided in these pages. Then get outside, practice, wear out some brushes. I guarantee it will be fun!

Working Outdoors

The first thing you need to do is decide where you’d like to paint. The majority of my plein air work is done within two miles of my home in Michigan, where the landscape is a mix of old and new housing and farmland. In this rural setting, I find many interesting things to paint: gravel country roads, farm buildings, farm equipment, woods and fields, cars, runners and walkers, and vistas and close-ups.

In most parts of the world, you have tacit permission to set up and paint in public places.

I usually don’t ask, but if I’m told to move out of the way or set up in another area, I always smile and agree. If I’m in the middle of a painting, I take a photo of both the view and my work and finish later. You also have tacit permission to set up on almost any public roadway as long as you don’t impede or block traffic; however, I have been asked to move further from the road by local police when I am too close to traffic.

One of my favorite places to paint is a gravel road not far from my house. It was also the preferred place for a local patrol officer to stop and catch up on paperwork. He loved one of my paintings of that road and bought it—a nice surprise that can happen when painting locally.

I love to travel and always take my painting supplies with me. It is wonderful to be invited to paint at what is—to me, at least—an exotic international destination. When traveling abroad, I always research the customs of that country to make sure I don’t offend anyone or break any laws. Painting is an international language. Everyone understands the effort needed to make a painting!

Ultimately, I never trespass to paint. If I find a private location I like, I always ask permission first. No one has ever said no. Every now and then, if I complete two paintings on private property, I’ll give one of them to the owner. They are always appreciative, and I always get invited back. Double-check to make sure you’ve not left any paper towels or equipment behind.

Early Morning Lily