What is “Plein Air” painting?
 
En plein air is a french term meaning out of doors. “Plein Air” painting as it is used today has come to refer to the practice of starting and finishing a painting entirely on location. It differs from most other landscape painting where a small study is created in the field and brought back into the studio to be used as a color note and composition reference along with a photograph for the development of a larger and more detailed painting.



  
 
Challenges for the Plein Air Artist
 
Speed and Accuracy.
The Plein Air artist must work quickly and with great accuracy. This is because the position of the sun is constantly changing and after a period of two or two and a half hours, the shadows and highlights have so altered that the initial work no longer supports the finishing strokes. The viewer will become confused by mixed signals regarding the direction of the light source and the painting is not convincing.

Simplification and gestural brushstrokes.
The plein air artist is able to synthesize a scene into a harmonious language that tells the story of what he or she sees quickly by clumping objects together into solid planes which get lighter in value and have softer edges as they recede into the distance. Closer detail or focal point interest can be accomplished with the careful placement of a few suggestive brushstrokes in colors that draw the viewer’s attention with their higher value contrast and richer hues.

Is Plein Air painting an organized artistic movement?
Yes! Many wonderful Plein Air artists working today are in touch with each other through their regional and national Plein Air associations. They see each other at Plein Air “Paint Outs” and Festivals all over the United States where they travel to compete with their peers for prizes and provide freshly executed high quality paintings for sale.

The first juried Plein Air festival started in Laguna Beach, California fourteen years ago. It is still regarded as the premier show in the country. Now there are festivals in many of the most visited destinations in the U.S. such as Sonoma, CA, Sedona, AZ, Carmel, CA, Easton, MD to name a few.