Have you ever seen an artist work ‘en plein air’, or outside in the open air? What image does this question conjure for you? An artist donning a floppy hat and easel, painting a golden hour landscape or an artist working diligently on a busy Paris cityscape, perhaps with the Eiffel Tower? Both references are correct! Creating en plein air simply means the artist was creating their work outside, in nature and all of its elements. While it may seem a romantic type of thing to do, most adult students I’ve taught are intimidated by creating outside. Which means that they know what they are doing! En plein air creation can certainly be a tricky way to paint or draw, but the lessons it teaches us are very important and can help tremendously in learning to be quick and be prepared.

Did you know that up until the last two hundred years, this style of painting wasn’t easy? During the time of the Impressionist era of artistry, paint started to be developed in tubes and didn't have to be mixed on location. Which is something that wasn’t available to painters before, who generally created in studios by candle light. 

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