Plein (pronounced plen like in plenty) air…these two words are fun to say out loud. It is a French expression for “in the open air” and is usually associated with a type of painting that involves leaving the studio to paint outdoors, to paint what is in front of you.
On our trip to the north shore last week, we saw several artists painting Plein air, more that we have seen in the past. And I was included in that number.
The resort we were staying at had several activities one could participate in, for free. I decided to sign up for the watercolor activity, since I recently have started a humble attempt at watercolor. It was a beautiful morning, so I was delighted when I arrived at the classroom and learned we were going to go outside to paint, near the water’s edge. The disappointing part was it was not a class, but an “activity” where they handed out paints, brushes and paper to the four of us, and that was it…no instruction or tips or anything…just supplying the tools.
OK, so I had to decide what I wanted to paint. In my beginner’s class I’ve been learning to paint flowers… maybe I could start on pumpkins. However, since we were outside and the beautiful shores of Lake Superior was the scene in front of us, I decided I would try Plein air painting, even though I knew landscapes was not something I would excel at, especially without any instruction.
Looking at the lake in front of me, I started to paint, but I didn’t get any satisfaction from it. It was a disaster, so I quickly finished it and started painting pumpkins.
But now I can claim I have done Plein Air painting, if only for an hour. It was fun to be looking at the lake visualizing what others can paint. For me, I will try to capture the landscapes with photos.
