Plein air painting; Top 10 things I love
Here is a follow up to my previous top 10 list about painting on location. You will notice that some of the things that I cited as pains in the tuccus are also some of the very things I love. And there is a lot more to love than what I've written below!
- The challenge of racing against time to capture the ever changing light.
- Appreciating the beauty of the natural world firsthand.
- Being outside to witness the special quality of light that comes early in the morning (before breakfast) and just before sunset (around dinner time).
- Getting lost in the experience (this happens for me in the studio, but not as intensely as it does when I'm painting on location. I lose all track of time and am able to be in hyper-focus.)
- Those ah-ha paintings-- When everything about the painting experience gels and you've said everything you wanted to say with an economy of brushstroke and a real understanding of the light (makes all those other half-finished plein air studies worthwhile!)
- Connecting with so many kind and interesting people from all over the world.
- Using all of your senses to create--seeing so much more color and information in nature than it is ever possible to see in photographs.
- The challenge of editing out some of that color and information to make a cohesive and well composed painting.
- Painting along with other artists and seeing how differently they interpret the same scene.
- Those moments of quiet solitude, but not really feeling "alone" because you are a part of it all!