I must admit that I don’t like plein air painting. It fits into the category of things I don’t like because I’m not very good at them, like pickle ball or cake baking.

A quote I found in The Art Story describes plein air painting this way: “The term “plein air” defines both a simple technical approach and a whole artistic credo: of truth to sensory reality, a refusal to mythologize or fictionalize landscape, and a commitment to the idea of the artist as creative laborer rather than exulted master.” (Whew!)

I have a lot of admiration and respect for artists who can do beautiful landscape paintings while battling the elements of wind, rain, too much or not enough sun, and mosquitoes. It’s the uncertainty of the environment and the sensory overload that prevents me from embracing this technique.

There also seems to be too many rules for plein air competitions. Most events say that you can’t start the painting before you arrive, and you can’t finish it in your studio. This theory embraces the “pure” technique that requires the painting to be completed in one sitting.

I prefer to retreat to my studio where the lighting is always perfect, and the temperature is always cool. I analyze my photo reference and make sure it’s cropped to the size of my canvas, Then put on my Spotify channels of Frank Zappa or David Byrne favorites (try it sometime) and go to work.

Because I like to paint a variety of different subjects, I always have at least three paintings in progress at any one time, none of which are ever completed in one day. Since I work in oils, I need to let the layers dry so I can continue to build on the colors and contrasts of the painting.

I must emphasize that no painting technique is right or wrong. What all painters love is the feeling of our brush on a canvas and the magic that happens when we mix the colors that create the images we share with the world.