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A recent plein air event on the California coast I attended left some impressions. Here are a few:

I observed several painting demonstrations during a plein air event at the Lost Coast in California. Those along with many other demonstrations I have watched over the years have piqued my interest in observing people painting when they are not being watched so intently. Does the artist in his natural habitat really lay out a row of neat and tidy warms, and a row of neat and tidy cools perpendicular to each other on their palette? As the painting progresses, does each blob of paint maintain its integrity to a large degree? Are all of the colors carefully calculated ahead of time, or are there some spontaneous additions along the way? Watching paintings develop with hardly a spill or blop, is amazing, especially given my approach. I have given many demos and know that it helps to paint the subject a time or two prior. It also helps to try to eliminate kinks ahead of time.  I don't lay out a row of warms and a row of cools. I put out several colors and proceed with those. They set the mood and establish the main elements and composition. I add as I go. Sometimes the palette can get pretty gnarly. When I need more space, I scrape up the colors I want to use and redistribute them on a cleaned palette. This is probably a lot messier, but it is also a lot more fun for me. I have tried the neat and tidy way, and it leaves me unhappy and unappreciative of the process. I used to feel self-conscious of my methods, but it works for me and I usually like the resulting work. Now you know my dirty little secret.

The comradery that developed over the week of painting was wonderful. Seven or eight artists camped at Shelter Cove, sharing food, wine, talk and fun. We had a campfire every night, except the one that was extremely windy. It was very conducive to creativity and plain old fashioned fun. The many social gatherings hosted by the organizers encouraged an openness and amiability.

Not all plein events are created equal. Plein Air at the Lost Coast was exceptional. The local volunteers who put everything together were passionate about their community, and over the top generous to the artists who were participants. Food and refreshment were provided daily, and people brought water to the widely scattered artists all day, every day. I appreciated the special day at Redwood Abbey in Whitethorn, painting the Redwoods and ambiance of the place. Most I think came away with a positive experience and are looking forward to next year's event. 

What are your working methods? Do they differ drastically from those mentioned above? Have you developed a system that works for you? Please comment.

Moira Donohoe’s Blog

Outdoor (Plein Air) Painting

Painting outdoors or en Plein Air is enjoying huge popularity these days, but it is not a new phenomena. Extremely popular among artists it has also captured the collective imagination of the country. Since the French Impressionist in the later part of the 19^th Century began painting outdoors to capture the effects of light on form, painting in the open air has experienced ebbs and flows. It was avidly pursued on this side of the Atlantic in the later part of the 1800’s, and the early 20^th Century, and groups such as “The Society of Six” based mostly in Coastal California, and “The Canadian Seven” in Eastern Canada actively painted and promoted the art form. Santa Catalina Island off the southern California coast was and still is a hot spot for plein air painting. Many art groups around the country have their branch of ardent outdoor painters, such as Yosemite Western Artists based in Oakhurst California. www.yosemitewesternartists.org/  and the Modoc Plein Air Painters, www.facebook.com/groups/ModocPleinAirPainters/   www.alturasartcenter.com/  in Alturas California

Alturas is high desert country in north eastern California and quite different from the Yosemite area where I was raised and still live part time. Contrast can bring dynamism to a painting, so too perhaps to life. We had not been in Alturas long before I discovered the Art Center where I began teaching art classes through Lassen College.  Margo Curtis was the much loved and respected resident teacher who was retiring. She was a tough act to follow. The first class I taught at the Art Center for Lassen College was drawing.  About 18 people had signed up, and among the names was Margo Curtis! OMG! One of the staff there told me that one student was “the” Modoc County Arts Council, the county being so small in population that Ken did everything.  Well, I gave it my best shot, and today I count some of my good friends and colleagues from that group. The current exhibit at the Art Center Gallery is Modoc Plein Air Painters, The group began informally as friends who enjoyed painting together outside. Now we have a monthly date during the months that one can feasibly paint outdoors here. Subjects are varied from mountains, aspen groves, to sagebrush steppes, and we’ve planned painting trips to the coast, Sierra Nevada, and Southern Oregon, with thoughts of going further afield in the future. 

What child if given the opportunity wouldn’t love being out in nature smearing paint around on paper in response to the life around them. That’s the way my love affair with paint and brush began. I painted outside in the meadows of Yosemite as a child, and later took gear hiking on the high trails in the Sierra. Going outside to paint has its pros and cons. The biggest best thing to me is responding from the gut, in the moment, on the spot. Paintings done outside have a freshness that is sometimes lacking in studio paintings. They also are challenging at times. I personally have gone out in all kinds of weather, as have many die hard painters. It’s not always what I prefer, but it certainly makes you feel alive. Then there is the proverbial fly in the ointment which translates to fly in the paint, or mosquito, or gnat, or no see um. Once while teaching a pastel workshop in Yosemite, one student who paused to consider his work took a bite of his prussian blue instead of the granola bar he had in the other hand. Another time in another workshop, the same student spilled his entire palette of 200 or so pastels as he watched his easel somersault down the creek embankment it had been perched on. These are just a few of the possible occupational hazards. Still in all, the positive far outweigh the negative. Around the country plein air events and competitions are growing in numbers. Plein Air magazine has an enthusiastic following, and plein air workshops in all media abound. For me I can combine two long abiding loves, being outdoors and painting.