Some of you know me and are aware that I enjoy painting with watercolor and watching the “magic” happen on the paper. For the rest of you, I will add that I enjoy painting in the watercolor classes here at the Ankeny Art Center. I also enjoy painting at home in my small studio space. Finally, I enjoy being outside and creating plain air style sketches. As a note of explanation, I am using the term ‘sketch’ to mean painting small, roughly 5x7 pictures, and not actual finished works of art.

 

Some people comment that painting outside is too tough. The weather adds many variables such as heat, humidity, wind, and constantly changing lighting. While their points are valid, I see these things as additional ways to push my painting skills and enjoy nature.

 

When I paint outside, I can breathe in the fresh air. Listen to the birds sing and other sounds of nature. Feel the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the shade. Since I am working in a small format and trying to quickly complete a picture before the conditions change, I do not feel any pressure to create a ‘masterpiece’. This allows me to relax, put paint on the paper, and watch the magic of watercolor happen.

 

Plein air painting teaches me new things. Being aware of the humidity and how it affects the way the paint dries is one of these. Another is to quickly create a pencil sketch what I plan to paint before the shadows shift. I also have learned that taking a picture of the scene can be a benefit to capture just how it looked when I started the painting. Since I use a limited palette when painting outside, I have improved my color mixing skills. Mixing colors from that limited palette has also taught me to not be hung up on exactly matching the colors of the subject but rather to focus of the value ranges in the scene.

 

These sketching sessions have helped me improve my subject matter selection and scene composition skills. I always start by looking around and seeing what catches my attention. Is it a sweeping landscape or a single flower? How does the image change if I move a little to my left or right? How does the scene ‘flow’? Do I need to eliminate some of the items that are in the scene? Or do I need to add something that isn’t really there? No matter where I am there is a picture to be sketched. Finally, these quick, often 20 minutes or less, sketches enable me to fit painting into my busy schedule.

 

In the end I want to stress that I am not saying that plain air painting is better than studio painting. It is simply another way to enjoy the magic of watercolor.