Packing for Plein Air

Preparation is key when packing for plein air excursions. Just like backpacking, every ounce counts. These are some tips to consider when deciding what to bring or leave in the studio:

• Take only the colors you need. Consider the time of year and the location you are planning on visiting when thinking about your palette. This may mean just 6 small tubes of paint, or a handful of half stick pastels.
• Do you really need all those brushes? Fewer brushes will also help with space and cleanup.
• Small amounts of turpentine/mineral spirits. Store in tightly sealed containers to prevent spills.
• Take panels instead of canvases (see previous post)
• Paper Towels are always a good idea; you can cut the roll in half to reduce size/weight!
• When looking for other art supplies, travel sized/travel friendly options are always your best bet.
• Don’t forget sunscreen, bug repellent, water, snacks, and a hat.

How will you carry your supplies? Pochade Boxes and Plein Air Easels (French, Soltek, etc.) are specially made to hold your art supplies inside them, and are great ways to limit what you take with you in the field. Otherwise a small bag or tackle box can do the trick. If you are hiking into the field, or even just down the street, you should be able to carry everything comfortably in one trip. This could be a comfortable backpack, shoulder bag, cart, or any combination.

Every artist has their own particular way of doing things. Try out different options and see what works best for you.

Andrew Wyeth - America's Artist

Early Friday morning artist Andrew Wyeth died in his sleep. He was 91. Wyeth portrayed the hidden melancholy of the people and landscapes of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley and coastal Maine in works such as "Christina's World" and "Groundhog Day." He died in just the sort of weather he loved, the empty cold and the sharp sunlight of the dead of winter.

Wyeth was born on July 12, 1917 in Chadds Ford, PA. His father was N.C. Wyeth, famed painter and illustrator. It was in Maine that Wyeth found the subject for “Christina’s World,” his best-known painting. And it was in Pennsylvania that he met Helga Testorf, a neighbor in his native Chadds Ford who became the subject of the intimate portraits that brought him a wave of public attention in 1986. The “Helga” paintings, many of them full-figure nudes, came with a whiff of scandal: supposedly Wyeth had not even told his wife, Betsy, about the more than 200 paintings and sketches until he had completed them in 1985.

Although the art world has had mixed feelings about Wyeth's work since the 1950s, he has been referred to as "America's Artist" by the Baltimore Museum of Art. A Wyeth retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006 drew more than 175,000 visitors in 15½ weeks, the highest-ever attendance at the museum for a living artist.

A Plein Air Painting Demonstration

Jennifer Young gives a great step-by-step demonstration of her plein air painting procedure in this article from Empty Easel.

http://emptyeasel.com/2007/08/24/vineyard-patterns-a-plein-air-painting-demonstration-by-jennifer-young/

Karen Ramsay - Watercolorist

Karen is a talented watercolorist and teacher, as well as a friend to Judsons Art Outfitters. Living in Fort Collins, Colorado allows her many opportunities to paint plein air. Her landscapes, cityscapes, florals, and portraits are filled with fun and life. Karen was also featured in the Big Sky Journal as an "Artist of the West" in 2001. She offers an on-going watercolor workshop in Fort Collins at The Gardens on Spring Creek. Karen’s artwork is featured on the 9x12 Guerrilla Painter® Watercolor Block which is available through our store. You can learn more about Karen by visiting her website.

Conrad “Connie” Schwiering – 1916–1986

Coming of age in Wyoming in the depression, Connie Schwiering made it the hard way. He got a start in painting from Robert Graham in Denver, was mentored briefly by Bert Phillips in Taos, then studied at the Art Students League in New York with Charles Chapman, a friend and contemporary of Frederick Remington. After the war, he and his wife settled in Jackson Hole where they lived for the next 11 years in a cramped travel trailer with a tacked on lean-to for Connie to paint in, before building a modest house and studio. He was well known and liked among local ranchers, painting in and around Jackson Hole as he slowly gained a following. Connie painted plein air extensively and on a substantial scale as shown in the accompanying photos. The genre of Western painting is underappreciated for its extensive contribution to the plein-air painting tradition in the United States. Conrad Schwiering is a stand-out from the lean years in the mid-20th Century.

– Carl Judson

Skip Whitcomb - American Plein Air Artist

Congratulations to Skip Whitcomb - he has just been named Featured Artist of the 2009 Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale at the National Western Stock Show in Denver Colorado.

“The most obvious way to paint nature is standing in the middle of it. If I keep an open mind, I see all these wonderful relationships and juxtapositions I could never invent in the studio. I try to look at the landscape as if I’m seeing it for the very first time. You have to paint from inside yourself; otherwise you are simply recording like a camera. There really is a higher reality.” – Skip Whitcomb

Raised on a ranch near Sterling, Colorado, Whitcomb spent his summers Wyoming and the wide open spaces felt like home to him. An accomplished plein air painter, draftsman and printmaker, he studied at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he received thorough training in drawing and painting. Whitcomb believes that "Drawing is the soul of painting." He carries a sketchbook with him everywhere he goes and paints studies on the spot. A large part of his year is spent traveling throughout the West, but he is also rejuvenated by seeing and painting new places in the world. Whitcomb is recognized by his peers as an "artist's artist" and looks to the classics in art and literature for inspiration. He makes his home in Fort Collins, CO. In 2009, Whitcomb will be holding workshops in Arizona, Washington, Wyoming, and California.

http://www.skipwhitcomb.com/

Using Cast Shadows

Here is a link to an informative article on Empty Easel about the use of cast shadows. It has some great tips for all kinds of painting and drawing, not just plein air.

T. Allen Lawson

With an eye for subtle beauty and a dedication to continual study, T. Allen Lawson works and paints in the tradition of earlier artists. His paintings are consistently evolving expressions of the artist and his surroundings. Lawson lives with his wife and children in Rockport, Maine and will be offering workshops in the Fall of 2009.

http://www.tallenlawson.com/

Cynthia Hooper – Tijuana Garage Door Dwellings

“These oil and gouache paintings interpret the resourcefully improvised domestic dwellings and infrastructure of the rapidly and perilously expanding working-class communities of Tijuana, Mexico. My most recent paintings examine the repurposing of cast-off garage doors from vintage San Diego subdivisions to build sturdy four-walled Mexican homes. These garage doors—once an important façade component for mid-century American commuter homes—now function as the only façade for households that (more often than not) cannot afford a car. This subtle irony—as well as these homes’ iconic beauty—is completely compelling, as are the complex social and economic contingencies that shape these communities.” – Cynthia Hooper

You can learn more about Cynthia by visiting her website
http://www.cynthiahooper.com/

Octopuses Garden Art Alliance

The Octopuses Garden Art Alliance is a non-profit organization in Omaha, NE dedicated to strengthening community interaction through visual, literary and performance arts. Their vision is to integrate Omaha's diverse community by offering workshops, projects and events to all areas of the city and to serve as a catalyst for local schools, non-profits, and businesses to form alliances. They believe that self-expression through art is healthy and therapeutic for each individual, including those with special needs, and making such experiences accessible to everyone will benefit the entire community. For more information visit their website http://www.octopusesgarden.org/

My American Artist's Plein Air Blog

Below is a link to My American Artist's Plein Air Blog. It is bursting at the seams with interesting posts involving everything plein air.

http://forums.myamericanartist.com/blogs/pleinair/default.aspx

Brian Buckrell's Plein Air Acrylic Set-up and Procedure

I have been plein air painting for about 4 years. In that period I have had the good fortune of taking numerous workshops from skilled painters doing plein air in both acrylics and oils. I am a bit of a gear-head (according to my wife), and as a result I have tried most set-ups and modified most of what I have purchased. Through trial and error, and studying the set-ups of others, I now have equipment that I am happy with.

I have purchased and used the 9x12 and 6x8 Guerrilla Boxes™, the Soltek Easel, and two sizes of the Easy L. I find any of these work fine for me when using oils - although each has its particular advantages. But for acrylics, after trying all, I have setteled on the 9x12 Guerrilla Box™ slightly modified to fit my needs. It is the sturdiest of the bunch and holds the most. I find painting with acrylics requires more supplies and the Guerrilla Box™ handles it well. If I am painting in an urban setting or some place close to my car, I transport my equipment in a folding hand truck equipped with plastic containers held in with quick ties.

I have modified the Guerrilla Box™ as follows: I have attached two bungees across the top of the lid of the Guerrilla Box™ to hold my Slip in Easel. I use the Slip in Easel to raise the base of the panel above the palette. I use a bungee that ties to the handle of the tripod and hooks over to the top of my panel - adequate for panels up to 16x20. For larger panels I put a bungee around the back of the box lid which hooks to each side of the panel. The Sta-Wet palette is held in place by two small nails that I hammered into the front edge of the Guerrilla Box™ and cut off the nail heads. These grab the plastic ridges on the base of the Sta-Wet and prevent it from sliding.

Painting Procedure:

It took a while to get it through my thick head, but I have finally learned that time spent planning is probably the most important time spent when doing plein air. I do at least two thumbnail sketches, selecting what to include and what to eliminate. I try to clearly define a foreground, midground and background. I then transfer the sketch to the panel using water soluble pencil, then re-draw it using a waterproof black marker pen - many brands bleed but some, like Sharpie, do not. I then wash off the water soluble pencil.

Once the sketch is in place I choose a transparent color (generally warm) and, using glazing medium, apply the under painting. Sometimes I apply it evenly and quite heavy; other times I wipe it off selectively, creating a value pattern. While the under painting is drying I select my palette (color choices vary from day to day). Unlike with oils, I do not put out all paints until I require them - and am constantly adding paint as needed (which is conveniently below my palette with the Guerrilla Box™). I begin by putting out the dark transparents and usually just put them on the 9x12 disposable palette which I discard once finished with these. If the weather is not too drying I put them on either the 9x12 plastic palette (using both the lid and bottom - stacking them on the slider) or the Sta-Wet 12x16 with disposable palette paper or, if conditions suggest, I will use the Sta-Wet moistened paper and sponge. I then lay in my darks using the transparent - often quite loosely - creating shape and value as much as possible. I avoid adding white - including colors made opaque with white - as long as I can. I often start with the foreground - using as much transparent as possible - and cut out the mid ground shapes with opaques as I create the background. Once the basic plan is in place I often glaze with transparent darks - often phthalos (green, blues or magenta) sometimes with ivory black added - always with glazing medium and a bit of water. This drops the overall value and creates harmony (a mother color if you wish). Then I come back with opaques and re-develop the lighter values.

I have a history of overworking many paintings. I have learned that I am better off not trying to finish many of my paintings on site - although about 20% of pieces I do call finsihed. The others I return to my studio to finish without reference, trying to make the piece stand on its own. Probably 25% are complete junkers - but that is down from 50% two years ago and I have to remember that these are the ones I learn from. I credit most of my improvement to the advance planning and the application of a correct drawing before I start - particulary in complex urban scenes.

Generally I prefer to paint plein air with acrylics. I find I paint more imaginatively and with more color. I paint fast and furiously. I no longer experience trouble with drying as I only put out paints I am using - and I have painted in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. I have tried the slow drying brands but prefer to keep them for the studio.

- Brian Buckrell

Brian Buckrell.com