A Painter's Musings on the Visual World

When I first started painting outdoors I realized that it was one of the hardest disciplines I would ever attempt. I was very fortunate in my very first painting workshop I took to have an instructor who upon finishing his short demo said he was showing us “A” way to paint, and adding it was not “THE” way. When we are relatively new to a subject it is helpful to be shown ANY way to organize the turmoil of all there is to learn. It is also helpful to know there may be more than one way – we need the freedom to find a path that works for each of us. The more that basic structure becomes second nature to us, the more we are able to improvise. We can try on an approach for a day and see if it resonates.

 Jane Chapin  "Return to Penitentes"  11 x 14

Persistence pays off and after many years of plein air study I started applying for and getting accepted in the growing myriad of plein air events around the country. I met a lot of great painters on the "circuit" and even was fortunate enough to sell some paintings and win a few awards. Yet it never became easy.  After a few years with the number of these events steadily growing, I decided not to do them anymore.

It was not for any lofty reasons. I had nothing but respect for my fellow artists and was constantly impressed by their work under some of the most difficult conditions. For me, it was about happiness, freedom and personal goals. I still wanted to paint outdoors - I just wanted to do it my way and not according to anyone else’s timeline or rules.

  Jane Chapin  "Independence"  9 x 12

There are lots of different ways to paint and within them there is technique and skill and much to learn. Plein air, which I had started as a discipline to improve my skills, had become the end product for me with the emphasis being on quantity. I started calling it “Destination Plein Air” because I always knew the end place – a wall, a reception, a judge and the expectation of sales. After all, the event organizers would not have juried you in if they didn’t expect you to sell.  Generally this would find me gazing at my wall wanting to “fix” things that I felt like I hurried into their frames kicking and screaming.  Instead of tweaking and framing, I yearned to refine my quick sketches more, to be more deliberate and less frantic while painting and to risk failure more often. It is possible to paint en plein air and go back to the same place and time on consecutive days, thereby slowing and controlling the process. It is also possible to just get quick color notes that don’t even approach a finished painting. But I found it almost impossible to do this within the constraints of a competition with wet paint sales and walls to fill. 

 Jane Chapin  "Corrales Adobe"  10 x 8

There are a lot of taboos and suggestions in the world of competition. We all hear them. Some of them are written in the rules of the competitions. No photographs is probably the biggest one and it often gets compromised in all sorts of ways.  If we listen to others, we might also think a plein air painting should not take longer than two hours, should never be touched again once you get back in the studio. There are those who say you should only use a limited palette. Others will tell you which easel, paints, brushes and surfaces to use and which subjects are "sure to sell." And by the way, after a long day of painting, you should really get a head lamp and try a nocturnal. 

 Jane Chapin  Color Sketch  10 x 8

It is easy to let yourself get caught up in all this and forget the joy of what you originally set out to do. For me now, plein air is a tool - a tool I can use to improve my skill or just take notes.  There is nothing else quite like it - being out there in nature, enjoying all that I can take in and capturing the true colors. And after taking it in and laying it down in my own way, I can even add that special extra touch back in the studio or leave it alone and use it as reference only. 

I might decide to do another studio painting using those references, photos, memories and skills I've acquired. I might just do quick sketches and never even pick up a brush. Eliminate the destination and there are no rules other than your own.