Popsicle Plein Air Painting

On Plein Air Painting in Winter > Who says you can only paint outdoors in warm weather? If you put together the right equipment and have a bit of adventurous spirit, this is a way to find new inspiration. Here’s how one New Mexico artist does it.

By Jack McGowan, PAPNM, OPA

Winter in New Mexico offers equally as many wonderful painting scenes as the warmer seasons do, just a few steps from my Jeep. In recent years I have combined life-long pastimes of skiing and snowshoeing with my passion for plein air painting. I call it “Popsicle Painting.” If you put together the right equipment and have a bit of adventurous spirit, this is a way to find new inspiration, so here’s how I assembled a plein air kit for painting in winter. It takes preparation, as do all things plein air, but the effort paid off for me.

There are two critical topics for Popsicle Plein Air: assembling the ideal painting kit and having the right winter gear. The painting kit comes first and weight is a major factor. Weight is always an issue, but I am ashamed to admit that my Jeep Gladiator plein air kit weighs 25 pounds. It has grown to include:

• a large duffle with an extra oil paint wallet
• brushes and brush washer, tools, solvent, paper towels / wipes (9 lbs.)
• a 12 x 16 pochade with built-in wet panel carrier and tripod (14 lbs.)
• extra Masterpiece wet panel carrier (1 lb.)
• and a glass palette in a sealed plastic box, loaded with paint (1 lb.).

It’s like a steamer trunk! So, I rarely stray more than 100 yards from the Jeep, often painting in the pickup bed. When I decided to start Popsicle painting, my goal was to be compact and get the weight down to 15 pounds.

The pictures above show how compact this Day Pack Painting kit is and, especially with the box N paint trays, I can set and be painting in just a few minutes. This is really helpful in cold weather.

My day pack painting kit is perfect for snow shoeing or skiing. I started with a lightweight Osprey Pack (2.5 lbs.), and Strada Mini with two nesting trays at 3 pounds, plus a carbon fiber compact tripod adds 3 lbs. I added 2 loaded “box N paint” trays plus extra paint tubes and medium wallets, tools, paper towels, wipes, brush cleaner, sunscreen, chapstick and hand warmers (5.5 lbs.). Add 9×12 or 8×10 linen boards in wet panel carrier (1 lb.). The kit totals 15 lbs., add a pound for water/snacks, and I am off.

This painting kit lets me get off the beaten path and find the ideal composition. That said, some pack comparison points are worth making. Some say 15 pounds is the perfect weight, others say 10 pounds and super compact is ideal for backpack painting in Europe, etc. I understand that thinking, but my goal is to snowshoe a mile or so into the mountains, not through train stations. I want to find the ideal scene and be able to create “ready for sale” plein air works during these trips, so I opted for a more productive painting kit.

Of course there is always studio finish required on paintings, but my goal is to exceed 80% completion. To achieve that goal, I added things like palette trays to help speed the set-up of my kit, but also to optimize my palette space for mixing. On one trip, I experimented with my 6” x 6” micro-size palette, but even with extension trays, I spent more time managing my palette than painting. This is all about personal preference, and I felt a few extra pounds were a good compromise to have a slightly larger palette and a few extra tools.

If you have a mind to try out Popsicle Painting, I wish the best of adventures and a new take on plein air painting.

About Jack McGowan

Jack is President of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico and is represented by Legends of the West Fine Art in Santa Fe, is a member of the Bettina Steinke Group led by Master Painter Bill Gallen, and won the 2021 Enchanted Sky Award at the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, Paint the Enchanted Circle Invitational in Taos. He has been juried into shows throughout the Western United States. www.jackmcgowan-artist.com