A quick tip to help you discover the transformative strategy that will elevate your plein air painting experience and works.
The Best Strategy for Achieving Successful Plein Air Paintings
In my early years as a plein air painter – first in Westchester County, New York, and eventually Southern California, what mattered most to me was coming away with a finished painting. That’s not a bad goal, but like many artists, getting “finished” was more important to me than how I got there.
It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the experience of being out in nature, I certainly did, and I reveled in the experience! It’s just that once I started on a blank canvas, all I could think of was what I wanted it to look like in the end. Little did I know that this way of approaching my art was also my biggest stumbling block. Does that sound familiar to you? If so, read on because I’ve got something very important to share!
I’ve been at this now in a serious way for over 40 years and much has changed in that time; not only the quality of my work, but also the way I approach my subject, which has made all the difference. Somewhere along the line, my strategy for outdoor painting changed, and the results got much better. As I think about it, I’m sure it was more of an evolutionary process than a single event.
You see the strategy I’m talking about was a fundamental change in my thinking – (from an end-product approach to one of savoring the moment and immersing myself in the painting process).
This is so important, and I can’t stress it enough! Being fully absorbed in every brushstroke that you apply to the canvas is key. By that I don’t mean as a technique, which has more to do with surface quality. That’s important, but even more important is your ability to observe nature and make crucial comparisons regarding color choices, value decisions, edge quality, design edits and simplification.
Once I started concentrating on the process, the true artist began to emerge, and I was free to express myself in ways I didn’t understand before. I quickly learned that “finished” inevitably happens, only now it happens without the stress and worry, as a natural outgrowth of the process. Because of this, the results are almost always successful and certainly more enjoyable.
I hope that if you have been struggling with this same dilemma, you will gain valuable insights from this by trying it out on location; that’s where the real learning will take place.
Until next time,
~John
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