Plein Air Painting

Leslie Elder writes:

This Summer I have been enjoying getting outside doing a bit of plein air painting. Plein air means fresh air (or something like that) in French. It started with a workshop with oil painter Aimee Erickson (Multnomah Art Center) doing plein air oil painting for 3 days in Multnomah Village.

I used my portable french easel and set up in the village to paint with oil for the first time. About ten artists scattered across the village to record the scene, much to the delight (or amusement, in some cases) of passersby. Oil paint is great to use for plein air painting because it is slow to dry. Although I am mainly a watercolor painter, I was eager to try out my oils in this setting. Watercolors dry so quickly out in the open air, they are more of a challenge to use outside, especially in warm weather.

It's hard to go back into my studio with the weather continuing to be so fine. Yesterday, I went with my Watercolor Society of Oregon critique group to paint up in the Columbia Gorge. They didn't seem to mind that I painted with oils.

One of my favorite painters, Eric Wiegardt, said at a workshop once, that painting plein air is a good way to fill up your creative well. If you paint from photos too much, after awhile your 'well' can become dry because you have to work to create excitement in your your painting. When you paint from life, the excitement flows naturally from your subject matter.