En plein air

          The weather in Kansas has dropped quite a bit, enough to keep me inside with a cup of hot cocoa and a good movie.  But, the outside is beautiful, enough to make me throw on my coat and venture outside to see what I can capture.  Are you in a place where the leaves have been turning gold, red, and orange?  Get out and do some plein air painting!

En plein air:

 is a French term that means "in the open air" and is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. 

Many artists used this technique to create some of the amazing paintings we have come to know and love.  One of my favorites is Vincent van Gogh's, Cypresses:

Cypresses

Saint-Remy, June 1889

         As we all know, Vincent van Gogh had some problems with an ear...so he was committed to an asylum.  But not to the degree of other inmates, he was free to roam the grounds.  He painted the walls that contained him until he saw the landscape beyond the walls.  There were cypress trees and olive groves, a no man's land.  

        The painting above I had the joy of seeing in Houston many years ago when it came with a touring collection from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from New York.  The paint was thick showing the many layers of paint applied and the thickness at which it was applied.  Art restorers have found bits of bugs embedded in the paint showing that when he painted this painting it was a windy day.  How great is that to know Vincent van Gogh was sitting painting en plein air on a windy day.  So what is our excuse to not venture out on a windy, cooler day and paint a masterpiece?!  So lets all grab our brushes, palette knives, pastels, or pencils and capture the world outside our walls as he did.

Sources: Van Gogh. Metzger, Rainer and Walther, Ingo F.. Taschen. 1998.

             

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