Last week I had the opportunity to spend an hour outside doing some plein air painting. This is something I want to incorporate into my weekly painting routine on a regular basis. I have done a very small amount of this in the past but most of my painting has been done in the studio.
I really do need to just get out there and practice, its a very different thing to paint what is in front of you. I found this experience quite stressful for the first half. I had limited time as we had an hour before we had to leave so this put the pressure on. I am used to having all week to work on a painting (which is possibly why they end up overworked at times).
Here’s a few photos from my little adventure:
The last photo shows the painting I came away with after an hour. I know plein air painters who never touch their work after finishing outdoors and others who finish things off in the studio. Neither way is wrong, it depends what you prefer. I think if I had a lot more time on the spot I would have been able to finish this off better. Below is the finished work after some studio time:
Its not meant to be anything more than a study for now. Hopefully in the future I will improve with my plein air skills.
Thinking through as to why this experience was stressful (at first) I have realised that I was worried about people walking past and seeing my work before it was anywhere near finished. That’s introversion for you! More time outside will hopefully change that.
