Finding America: My Transformative Plein Air Painting Road Trip
By Emma Kalff
In 2018, I went on a road trip across the U.S in search of “the real America,” documenting my travels through plein air painting. Little did I know this trip would change my life – and my painting career – forever.
I worked on farms and ranches in exchange for room and board. The six-hour workday allowed me time to paint, and I learned about food production along the way. At one point, I worked at a yak ranch in Chadron, Nebraska, for six weeks. I spent all day feeding 80 yaks, giving them medicine, filling water tanks, fixing hot wire fencing, anything that was needed.
Afterward I would muster the energy to do plein air paintings, often of the yaks. It was a great lesson in learning to be around these massive animals and how to paint a moving target. I often got frustrated, feeling like I spent a two-hour painting session starting over every 20 minutes because the animals moved. But in the end, the necessity for quick decisions and commitment made me a much stronger painter.
Painting after hours of strenuous labor was tiring. The biggest lesson I learned was not to let myself sit down after the farm work, but to paint right when I had the time. Doing this day in and day out definitely made me fall in love with plein air painting. I loved stealing a brief moment for myself every day to really study the land I was working on. It was like loving the land from a spiritual angle, rather than the physical.
At one point I was staying in Fayetteville, AR in between farms. I had found this quiet side street where a few men were working. I knew exactly how they felt on that hot summer day, going to the truck to get their lunches. It was fascinating to paint them from the outside looking in, doing the work that I was so used to doing.
My favorite place was a produce farm in northern California. The workers were young folks from all over, and we had this beautiful bond together. Every day each person was assigned several tasks, but we always did everything together anyway. We took such good care of each other. In the afternoons we’d go swimming at a little lake, or sit on the porch talking philosophy. I did a painting of one of our long talks under the green and white awning of the front porch. I did another painting of a fellow worker in the fields at sunset. We’d be up at daybreak to milk the goats, and despite the early hour, I always felt fresh and excited, like I had missed something of the magic while sleeping.
Up before dawn, sitting around small kitchen tables in the sacred blue mornings, I came to find there was always warmth, and the deep, pure happiness that belongs only to people who work themselves to the bone every day and love it. Despite the backbreaking work, there was always room for interesting conversation, for trips up the road to cool off in the river, for laughing and crying together.
If you’re an artist considering doing a similar trip (especially a woman), map out the trip in advance and know where you’re staying every night. Share your location with friends and family, and don’t hesitate to leave a farm if something feels off. If you paint in oils or use other toxic chemicals, make sure you have airtight storage.
In the end, I produced roughly 40 paintings and I called the series “Finding America.” It got picked up by a gallery in Telluride, Colorado, where I had my first solo show. Most of the work has sold, but I still have a few cherished pieces from the trip.
I’m currently preparing a small-works collection of plein air paintings of my current home in Ridgway, CO. Sign up for my newsletter to follow this project!
Editor’s Note: Join us for the 6th Annual Plein Air Live online art conference, featuring Kathleen Hudson, Kevin Macpherson, Kami Mendlik, and many more! The event takes place November 6-8, 2025, with an Essential Techniques Day on November 5. Learn more at PleinAirLive.com.
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