Plein air painting; Top 10 things that are a pain in the tuccus

Since I've been doing quite a bit of painting on location this summer, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about the experience of plein air painting. I'll deal with the less desirable aspects first, and then follow up with what I love: 

1. Bugs of all kinds (ticks, mosquitoes, bees, etc.). I'm not the world's bravest outdoorsy type and I hate the creepy crawlies.
2. Sunburn! There is no way to avoid the sun. Be prepared and deal with it.
3. Being covered in goo (otherwise known as bug spray and sunscreen) due to list items 1 and 2.
4. Finding a location with lots of lovely shady spots, but the amazing scene that you are passionately in love with is only visible when standing in the blazing sun.
5. Forgetting to pack one essential thing (and I ALWAYS seem to forget to pack one essential thing!)
6. Having to lug around a bunch of heavy art supplies and equipment (no matter how much I try to pare down, it is still too much stuff!)
7. Getting out before breakfast time and staying out beyond dinner time because that's when the best light is. (Okay, my days revolve around my meals. Note; those are TWO meals I'm missing! )
8. Getting in the groove while the light is excellent, only to encounter a passer-by who feels like a nice, long chat.
9. Enduring the elements (sun, wind, rain, heat, cold, ever-changing light, etc.), all the while hoping to create something brilliant.
10.  Spending 2 to 3 hours painting and ending up with something that's nowhere near "brilliant"!

Lest you are thinking, "Stop your complaining. If you don't like it, stay inside!", stay tuned for the top 10 things to love about plein air painting and see why I put up with it and am becoming more and more obsessed with it. You may be surprised to find some overlap ;-)

The Delaware; plein air painting in St. Michaels

Another hot day painting outdoors, but at least the humidity was a bit more bearable. There was a nice breeze too, which kicked up mightily while I was painting this little tugboat in the harbor at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels. It was so windy, in fact that I was afraid to attach my umbrella to my easel. I had to hold my umbrella in one hand to shade my painting and palette, and paint with the other hand. I never before realized how much I needed two hands for painting! I chatted with the owner of this tugboat briefly and he assured me I had captured a decent likeness. "It's called The Delaware," he said as he was walking away. "The Delaware!"  I guess I have a title. The Delaware it is!

Maryland's Eastern Shore is an artist friendly place!

The Eastern Shore of Maryland has lot to offer for the plein air painter. In my vicinity I can paint the harbors, wetlands, and charming little villages like St. Michael's, Oxford, Tilghmand Island, and Easton. The people here seem pretty used to plein air painters too, since Easton just recently hosted a plein air festival and paint out. It is really nice to visit an area that is so supportive of the arts. Everywhere I go, the local establishments in Easton have plein air paintings on display. Even if I didn't paint at all, there are lots of shops, art galleries and restaurants to enjoy. If you're into antiques they seem big into that as well! And of course there is fishing. Lots of fishing! But what I like most is the natural beauty combined with the local charm of the area. You can drive out in several directions and hit the water, as small creeks, tributaries, and larger bodies of water finger their way into the land. It is fairly easy to find potential painting sites. It is also easy to pull off on the side of the road if something catches your eye. I love that there are bike paths along the byways, and big wide shoulders. I will definitely return to paint here again. I imagine spring or fall would be lovely (and a bit gentler in terms of the outside temperature!)

Tilghman Island Wetlands; Plein air painting

This piece was painted at about 5 pm. after a full day of painting in the hot, hot, sun. Sun sets around here at around 8 pm. but even so the light changed very quickly. There was a pinkish haze in the clouds and sky which may not be showing up that well in the image here, and the greys are really have more color in them, but I'm using limited image editing software on the road. This painting is 8"x10" and painted with the same 6 color + white palette I used yesterday.

A hazy day at Tilghman Island

If you are on the east coast, perhaps you witnessed some of that torrential driving rain that came through various parts yesterday. Well, I drove through it to get to the Eastern Shore! But I finally made it in one piece and got out to Tilghman Island to paintthe boats near the marina.  It was a very hot, hazy and humid day. The sun was out but it was a rather diffused, flatbut ever changing light that made for fairly close value ranges and a bit of a challenging subject. I started rather late in the morning but made this oil sketch with a limited palette of 6 colors plus white:

For this painting I used cadmium yellow light, raw sienna, alizarin crimson, permanent rose, ultramarine blue, ivory black and titanium white.  This is not my usual palette which is more of a double primary plus an extra color or two (and also devoid of black). But I'm practicing with the limited palette en plein air because it really helps to learn how to mix colors. It is also much lighter on the load if you can carry fewer paints!