The ART of THICK PAINT

20. Painting in the Field

PAINTING EN PLEIN AIR

My first experience painting in the field didn't go well. I was a freshman in art school and our professor rounded us up, herded us into a van, and drove us to a farm nestled in the foothills of a nearby mountain. It was a beautiful location and there were plenty of vistas to paint. But the beautiful scenery just made it more frustrating. I was surprised at how different painting in the field was than painting in the studio and the difference overwhelmed me.

It was my first disappointing experience with field painting, or painting en plein air as the French say, and I had bitten off more than I could chew. Years later I discovered that this is a common experience, that few neophytes find painting en plein air to be a natural gift. Later I realized how unlikely it was that such a difficult skill could be acquired without preparation.

Via a careful analysis of why painting en plein air is so hard a remedial course can be formulated that will help you in your transition from studio to field. It is unlikely that this method will suit everyone, because everyone's weaknesses are different, but the challenges of painting in the field are similar enough that these methods should be helpful to most.

WHY PAINTING EN PLEIN AIR IS SO HARD

The best studio lighting is lighting that remains constant. Some artists go to great lengths to have Northern light in their studios. Northern light is considered best because it is the most constant. Others prefer the absolute constancy of artificial light. This constancy of lighting is enhanced by the use of source material, such as photographs or a still life set up, which are not subject to the changing lights of nature (direct light from the constantly moving sun or shifting reflected light).

Painting en plein air requires painters to deal with changing light. Typically a painter will spend two to three hours painting one scene. In that time the light can change quite drastically. Additionally, there can be multiple distractions. When you're frantically trying to record the darks and lights of your scene as the sun is changing, as mosquitoes and flies buzz around your palette, and, depending on your location, there could also be people milling about.

ACCEPT REALITY

It is helpful when painting outside to realize that your process is going to have to be different and the results will be equally different. If you focus on learning rather than producing salable paintings your more practical attitude will help you get a better result. Very few people paint entirely en plein air. Those who do have made it the signature of their work and their collectors expect their painting to be done en plein air. Since few painters take that approach, especially at the beginning of their careers, it is best to forego expecting our plein air work to be gallery paintings. I recently read that one of my favorite painters showed less than 10% of his plein air work. If a painter who has been painting 40 to 50 years exhibits one out of ten paintings you should allow yourself some latitude to paint some bad paintings.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS

As my command of painting in the field increased I began going to plein air events. But I had little idea why the pairings sometimes worked and why they sometimes didn't. At one important juncture I was invited to an artist residency at the Maynard Dixon studio in Mount Carmel, Utah. The pressure was on and I desperately wanted to create a body of expertly done plein air paintings. The final total was six bad paintings and two good ones. Which was a very disappointing ratio? I decided I needed to improve the odds of success and began a systematic analysis of what was wrong with all of my plein air paintings.

GET THE COMPOSITION RIGHT

The first thing I noticed with my failed plein air sketches was that many of the compositions were hurried or poorly thought out, like I didn't take the time to properly think through a solid composition. The remedy is to make as many thumbnail sketches as is necessary. After you've made 3 to 6 sketches pause, take a deep breath, and allow yourself to lecture of selecting the best image. Remind yourself that it is counterproductive to proceed until you've created a satisfying composition. The most common mistake I made with my thumbnail sketches was focusing on too much linear detail rather than on three to five value zones. Think of your composition as a series of interlocking shapes of differing values. The idea behind a thumbnail sketch is to make them so small that you actually can't add excess detail.