Painting outdoors ("en plein aire" if you want to be fancy) is a great way practice careful observation. A session of studying the world in all its myriad shapes, colors, arrangements and more gives an artist the opportunity to not only see the world but also to translate it, to make it attractive or at least acceptable to the eventual observers. Plein air painting forces the artist to confront the world, as a teacher of mine used to say.
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| "Grays Lake North Shore," oil on panel, 12x9 |
This oil is a good example of my outdoor work. The trees on the opposite bank were lush and very dark green. The challenge for me working outside is the million hue and shade of green, complicated by the infinite variety of tree shapes, leaf shapes, and more. I did this one standing on the northern shore of Grays Lake, near my studio. I've painted there many times, often choosing to focus narrowly on a small portion of the shore. This was late summer so that the surrounding woods and trees are fully leafed.
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