Preparing for En Plein Air

For the first few years, plein air painting is more about planning and developing good habits than it is about applying the paint. Most new to plein air painting become overwhelmed. The best plein air painters insure their success by having the knowledge and planning skills needed before going on location. This results in proper selection of subject, effective preparation and strong compositions. And makes for a lot more stress-free fun.

This workshop will be two days INDOORS. We will display and discuss equipment and supplies in oils and acrylics. A presentation will be given to cover the key elements of planning and composition for plein air. We will practice effective techniques for planning and work together to use thumbnail sketches to create a variety of simple and effective compositional choices from large projected images. The end of the first day and the entire second day will simulate working on location: planning, selection, simplification and making effective compositions from projected images then creating small "plein air" paintings in either oils (water-soluble or odourless solvent) or acrylics.

Students will be better prepared for when the season starts.