Plein Air Pointers

from Jessica Henry Gray

 

For Efficiency

• Streamline your supplies

• Take the least number of items you will need

• Even just a sketchbook, pen and pencil works!

 

For Oil Painters:

• A few brushes

• Six colors—three cools, three warms, red, blue, and yellow, plus white and black

• 2 canvases

• Palette (disposable, if you like)

• Tripod

• Container for spirits

• Paper towels

• Stool, if you want to sit

 

For Watercolorists:

• A few brushes

• Six colors—three cools, three warms, red, blue, and yellow

• Watercolor paper ( a block works well)

• Palette 

• Container for water

• Tripod

• Paper towels

• Stool, if you want to sit

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First:

• Walk around first

  • Scout the scenery

  • Look up, down, turn around

• What do I love about the scene?

  • Take notes to answer this question

 

Checklist:

• What do I want to paint today? Sky, water, flowers, etc.

• Capturing the color and the light

• Take a photo in black & white, turn it upside down to see if the composition works

• Do a few thumbnails—vertical, horizontal, zoom in, zoom out

• Take a photo when you start, then when you end or finish