May Post #4: Plein Air Painting

In preparation for my upcoming season in Yellowstone, which may or may not happen, my art teacher is showing me how to paint plein air.  Plein air simply means outdoor.

When painting outdoors you have to be quick.  For my lessons I am painting from pictures I've taken.  The one below is the from the Lakeshore Trail at Colter Bay in the Tetons.  The first step is the under painting.


In this step you want to quickly cover the canvas with a very thin layer of paint usually in an earthy color.  I used a combination of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue.  After covering the canvas you want to add some visual references such as shadows and lights. After getting all that done then you blot off excess paint with a paper towel and give the canvas a few minutes to dry before you start adding color.

Stay tuned to see how this painting progresses.

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Can't wait to see how it turns out!!
May 5, 2020 at 8:41 AM
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