How to Paint En Plein Air

Plein Air painting can feel intimidating, especially when you're first getting started. 

First of all, you're leaving your private studio and opening yourself up to potentially painting in front of people. You're also dealing with the elements - wind, changing light, precipitation, heat, all of which can impact your painting. 

But before you decide that outdoor painting is not for you, let me tell you why I love plein air painting. I also offer you 3 essential tips to painting watercolor on location that will help you feel more confident and at ease.  

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Why Paint en Plein Air instead of in Your Studio?

The truth is that it is much harder to paint en plein air than in the predictable space of your studio. But there are countless ways that this experience can enhance and improve your watercolor paintings. 

Most importantly, there's so much more information that you can take in and absorb when you are on location.

You can see more details in the shadows, more variations in the light. You can see the context of a photo and all that contributes to the particular feel the scene gives you. 

When you take a photo, often it can really compress the darks and you lose a lot of information. But when you're painting outside, you'll see subtle color shifts in your shadows that you've never seen before.

On location, you'll experience the breeze, absorb the atmosphere, and feel the warmth of the light. And you'll take all those feelings and sensations back with you to the studio. 

Think of plein air painting as immersing yourself in your subject so that you can more accurately convey the feeling it evokes in your watercolor painting. Because, in the end, that's our goal - to evoke a feeling through our art. We want to be inspired, convey that inspiration, and pass it on to our viewer. 

How is Plein Air pronounced?

Before we go any further, let's address the elephant in the room. People pronounce "plein air" differently. Not knowing the "appropriate" way to pronounce an activity you're venturing into can add to the anxiety. So let me clear this up for you. 

En plein air is a French phrase that is pronounced in this way (click link).

Some people pronounce plein air with a long a - like "plain air." This is not how I pronounce it, but it is an acceptable pronunciation in the watercolor community. 

I pronounce plein air with a short e sound - like "plen air." 

You'll hear some variations on this, of course. I had a guy come up to me when I was painting on location the other day and ask if it was "plown air season." I took it in stride, appreciating his desire for connection over his misunderstanding of the phrase. More important than whether you say "plain air" or "plen air," is whether or not you give it a try.  

3 Tips For a Satisfying Plein Air Experience 

It took me a while to get comfortable painting en plein air, and it's okay to feel a little nervous. After years of getting on location and painting subjects, I have 3 important tips for you as you take on this new challenge:

1. Pick the Right Subject

When I first started painting outdoors, I would pick something that I probably wouldn't have even been able to paint in the studio. So that's the first thing that you need to remember: if you can't paint it in the studio, you're definitely not going to be able to paint it on location outside in the elements, with the wind blowing, the light changing, and people coming up and interacting with you.

So pick the right subject. Here we have a great subject.

And here, I've broken down the process I used to paint this scene:

Here's how this plein air painting turned out:

 Especially when you are just getting started painting outside, it is essential that you choose a simple subject. Find something that is paintable, something in your comfort zone, and that is achievable under the conditions.

If you do this, you will have a much higher rate of success and you will get less frustrated when you're painting outdoors in watercolor. 

2. Pack Light

Think minimal when you're deciding what to bring with you on your plein air trip. Sometimes you're going to be parking and walking to location, so you don't want to have a lot of stuff with you. You want to try to pack as light as you can.  

For example, just take three brushes with you: a large mop brush, a medium round brush, and a smaller brush for details. 

If you can, have a plein air bag that is separate from your studio equipment. I know there can be some cost involved with this, and you might want to wait until you really understand what it is that you need to take with you before you do this, but it can the transition much smoother if you have a dedicated bag for outdoor painting. This way, you can just grab your bag and go.

Stay tuned, because next week, I am going to show you each item that I carry in my plein air bag when I paint on location. 

This will make it much less likely that you make the rookie mistake I did. One day, I drove out to a location, got completely set up, and then realized that I didn't have any paper with me. That was incredibly frustrating. Nothing zaps your creativity and your inspiration more than leaving something important behind. So pack light - but not so much that you forget an essential part of your watercolor painting process. 

3. Set Achievable Expectations 

The most important tip I have for you is to set appropriate expectations for a painting session you complete outside. 

Remember the goal of plein air painting. You are taking in the atmosphere of the scene. You're feeling the breeze. You're observing the light. You want to take that full sensory experience and bring it back to the studio with you to inform your studio paintings. The more you do this, the more your studio work will improve. For me, this is the overall goal of plein air painting.

When I go out and I plein air paint, I'm not thinking this painting is going to win an award, I'm going to sell this painting, or I'm going to make a masterpiece. I treat my plein air paintings as sketches to inform my other work. When you do this, it alleviates some pressure, and you'll find that you'll have more success and an overall more pleasant experience. You'll feel optimistic about spending your time outside, and it won't feel like a waste of time because you're just gathering information.

A lot of my plein air paintings just don't turn out. You're painting out in the elements. The wind is blowing, the light is changing. But I never feel bad about spending time outside. Treat it as gathering resources to really help you become a better painter overall by experiencing the subject in person.

Now, occasionally, you might paint something that you really like, and that's wonderful! I see that as a bonus. But a lot of times it's not going to be that way. It's going to be gathering information and creating a nice sketch that could possibly turn into a finished painting later on. 

Next week, I'm going to go over my plein air painting gear and show you the things that I must have when I'm outside, painting on location.

When is the Best Time to Paint Outdoors? 

An important variable that beginners sometimes neglect to think about is changing light. If it takes you a few hours to complete a watercolor painting, there are intervals when the light change might be so dramatic that it could throw off your painting altogether. Starting a painting in the early morning isn't ideal, and neither is evening. Many watercolor artists recommend that beginners try to paint en plein air during the late morning to afternoon, from around 11-3. Of course, particular location and seasonal considerations must be made, but try to find a time when the light will be as constant as possible. 

Plein Air Painting: The Best Way to Gather Information About a Subject

There's nothing wrong with painting from a reference photo, but there is only so much information you can get from a photograph. Painting on site can elevate your initial sense of a scene and help you make important decisions to convey the atmosphere and feeling that the scene evokes in real life.

Plein air painting can be fun as a solo adventure, but you can also find groups of painters in your area who like to paint together on nice days. This is one way that you can take this solitary hobby and connect with other artists in your area. This is a great way to learn and to create a community of like-minded people. 

I hope this is the motivation you need to get out in this nice Spring weather and paint! Let me know how it goes!