We love to hear from the Plein Air Today community! The following is part of a series that spotlights an artist who loves painting outdoors. Today’s feature is by Mark McDowell and his plein air painting experience in Italy.
Don’t Always Expect Things To Go Your Way
Last summer I was in Florence, Italy for a seven-week Summer Abroad painting curriculum as a part of my MFA degree. Each week we would paint for five days with two days in the studio, two days plein air around Florence, and one day going on a painting field trip in the surrounding region. During one of these field trips, we went to the historic walled town of San Gimignano. The Tuscany region was hot last summer with several consecutive stretches of over 100 degree days.
The town only allows vehicles used by the residents and local commerce, so we were dropped off at the town entrance where our group quickly dispersed to find our spots to paint. The hillside town is steep and, considering the heat, I decided to find an intimate side-alley where I could hide in the shade, away from the crowds. I made the classic mistake of searching for the perfect spot, however, and before I knew it an hour had elapsed and I had circled the entire town.
Hot and tired from lugging my gear and feeling the call of nature, I decided that I would stop and paint the next remotely suitable scene. Suddenly I came across the perfect spot…a shaded alley, not very busy, a classic stone Italian building with good dark and light shapes and a towel hanging on a clothesline! I quickly set up and went to work with my sketch and blocking in the shadow shapes.
I was in the zone and had forgotten about all the preceding challenges when a delivery truck pulled up and parked just a few inches away from my tripod, blocking my view. I was astonished that the driver saw what I was doing and yet still parked there instead of a few other nearby available spots. I waited a few minutes to see if he would move on, but no luck. I then approached him and politely asked how long he planned to stay there, or if he was willing to kindly move the truck a bit. He was not interested! What to do?
I tried taking a few steps to the right to catch a glimpse of the scene around the truck and then return to the easel to make a mark. Trying to rationalize the situation, I thought this would be good for my visual memory. But after a few minutes of the back-and-forth routine, I realized that it was hopeless. So, I took a picture of the scene, packed up my gear and called it quits. I was about 50-70% into the painting, so I knew I could finish it in the studio.
What lessons did I learn from this experience?
All attempts at painting should be considered as successes! This is something that I must remind myself frequently. Each session is an opportunity to learn. The most important lessons are learned from adversity and failure.
In the case of my “Laundry Day” painting, I learned not to waste too much time trying to find the perfect spot. I had a preconceived notion of what I wanted to paint instead of starting the day with an open mind. In addition to taking a picture that day before leaving, I now always take a picture of my scene at the very beginning, so I have a record of the exact lighting effect that attracted me in case I am interrupted.
I was also reminded that plein air painting demands flexibility with the potential of many uncontrollable variables. The less one resists, the richer will be one’s experience.
Although plein air paintings can have fresh energy and vibrant life, they are mostly meant to be studies and not finished paintings. In fact, they don’t even need to be completed. There are no rules!
Editor’s Note: Do you have a plein air story to share with the community? Email us at [email protected] with three images and captions, and a few sentences about your funny, inspirational, educational, or extreme plein air adventures!
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Blog post prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Plein Air Today
