PleinAir Q & A

Suzanne Gibson / 2023

a plein air introduction to oil painting 


PleinAir - the art of painting outdoors, in the open air.

Painting outside is nothing new. Many of the impressionist masters like Monet, Van Gogh and Seurat all demonstrated and produced beautiful sketches and paintings while outside. Painting out in the fresh air, feeling the wind, the sun, the breezes, the chill of a north wind, or perhaps a drop of rain all become part of the story while experiencing the moments spent with the canvas.

Paintings can be created directly on to canvas or paper using pencils, watercolors, pastels, ink, and paint. Over time, an artist can develop a skill that becomes their favorite, but it is a good idea to try various materials to determine which is right for you. Some sets of paints and pencils are small and compact and easy to carry in a small bag. This is ideal for traveling. Other kits for painting can be a little bigger, but also allow the artist to create larger and more detailed pieces of art.... but that would be up to the individual artist to decide.

Sketches and Studies are the starting point for PleinAir paintings. Understanding where the sun and natural light is and how fast it is moving is a skill learned through observation. We will use a SHADOW SPHERE to see where the light and shadow is at the beginning of the lesson and compare it to where the light is at the end of the lesson. THUMBNAIL SKETCHES can be used to help create a composition. This is a way to decide what to put in the painting, what to focus on, and how much extra stuff is needed. What do you want the viewer to look at. Where do you want the eye to go in the painting?

Once we have selected our VIEW we can look at the elements in the scene. Where is the HORIZON LINE? What is in the FOREGROUND, MIDDLEGROUND, AND BACKGROUND? What is going on in the sky? What is on the horizon?

• Now that we have figured out what we are going to draw and paint, we need to look at our tools and get started.
• PAINTING SURFACE: This is the canvas, a board, or a stretched piece of cloth, paper, or wood that has been prepared for your painting experience. Today we are using CANVAS PAPER that has been taped and stretched for you. This will allow us to let your artwork dry properly before you take it home in a few weeks.
• CONTE CRAYON in Sanguine Natural color is as "authentic" to old school sketching. This compressed oil pastel will put some edges and lines that will blend into our painting. We will lightly put a few lines onto our paper to help us get started.
• PAINTING today will be with WATER-SOLUBLE OIL PAINT. We will use SOLVENT-FREE GEL as our mixing medium (No TURPENTINE, no HAZERDOUS FUMES) and we will paint outside. Oil Paint (water-soluble and traditional) is still OIL PAINT and is mixed with natural vegetable oils and minerals. We do NOT FINGER PAINT with oils. We are Clean and Gentle with our oils.
• The Paint Brushes: Our FRIENDS!
• WE ARE KIND TO OUR PAINTBRUSHES.
• Different brushes help us do different things. Pick and choose which brush is suitable for the job. A small brush for a big rock? Or a big brush for a small tree? Each section of your painting will require a choice and you have a few brushes to help you make that choice. Please EXPERIMENT to see which brush does the best job.
• To clean our brushes and tools after oil painting, we use gentle shampoo and a solvent free mineral oil cleaner. I use lavender brush cleaner or citrus brush soap. In between I will use a gentle cloth to wipe and shape my brushes.
• Brushes are laid flat on a towel to dry. This prevents a buildup of water in the ferrule. A rusty, smelly ferrule is not a nice thing.
• PALETTE: The surface where we mix the paint. Plastic, Glass, Wood, or Paper. We are using Paper today.
• THE COLORS: OIL PAINTING PALETTE FOR PLEINAIR.
• PRIMARY COLOR PALETTE: RED, YELLOW, BLUE, WHITE, AND THEN A NATURAL YELLOW OCHRE.
• WE PAINT QUICKLY using "ALLA PRIMA" techniques. This means painting quickly, using a wet -on-wet method. The artist needs to think about the color combinations before they put them onto the canvas. There are no mistakes, but there are sometimes complications from putting red in the sky and green where you intended to put white. Planning and understanding what to paint first will take time.
• OUR UNDERPAINTING will be painted very THIN. USING OCHER to figure out our DARKEST shadows and shapes. We aren't looking at Trees and hills yet. Just the shapes and lines.
• Once our DRAWING is in place we start to fill in the sky and background colors. Look at the horizon... look at the sky along the horizon line. Is it bright? Is it grey? is it cloudy? THIS IS ATMOSPHERE! Is it lighter blue? is it purple? It will look different at 9 a.m. and different at 6 p.m. because of the movement of the sun!
• QUICK DRAW - sometimes I put a timer on and see how much of a sketch I can draw in 1 hour. This helps me become a better artist. Sometimes I limit myself to two colors. This helps me focus on the shapes and shadows without looking at the colors.
• Sometimes I paint the same thing over and over again. I change the lighting. I change the time of day. I paint in the sunshine. I paint in the rain. I paint at night time. I paint in moonlight. I paint with friends.
• WORDS YOU WILL HEAR PAINTERS USING:
• TEMPERATURE
• VALUE (STRONG / SOFT / HARSH)
• TONE (BRIGHT / MUTED)
• SMOOTH / TEXTURED
• WARM / COOL
• LIGHT / SHADOW
• SOFT / HARD (EDGES)
• LINES - HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, DIAGONAL,
• VANISHING POINT,
• ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE
• TWO POINT PERSPECTIVE
• FOCAL POINT
• TO EXPLORE MORE PAINTING CLASSES WITH SUZANNE: PLEASE VISIT MY ART SCHOOL PAGE:
• ARTLESSONSBYSUZANNE.BLOGSPOT.COM
• Follow my next journey on location in Ireland.
• July 20 through August 8th.
• #SuzanneArtist on Instagram
• and Suzanne's Art School on Facebook