En Plein Air Painting

"When I go out into the countryside and see the sun and the green and everything flowering, I say to myself "Yes indeed, all that belongs to me!""  —  Henri-Julien-Felix Rousseau

en plein air - French for "in the open air," used chiefly to describe paintings that have been executed outdoors in the fields of nature, rather than in the studio. Plein air painting was taken up by the English painters Richard Parks Bonington (1802-1828) and John Constable (1776-1837), and the French Barbizon School, and it became central to Impressionism. Its popularity was aided by the development of easily portable painting equipment and materials, including paints sold in tubes. The equivalent term in Italian is "alfresco," which is also used by English-speakers. (pr. pleh-nayr')

Using Nature as one's studio is not for every artist.  For me it brings a special contentment.  It also places me directly within my subject where I can see, feel and smell it in all its natural beauty as nature created it.

It requires carrying my supplies and equipment to where I want to paint, usually not too far from my mobile studio.  It allows me the ability to see features and details within the shadow areas and highlights and color changes that may only last seconds, things that only nature can provide.

Impressionism - An art movement and style of painting that started in France during the 1860s. Impressionist artists tried to paint candid glimpses of their subjects showing the effects of sunlight on things at different times of day. The leaders of this movement were: Camille Pissarro (French, 1830-1903), Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917), Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), and Pierre Renoir (French, 1841-1919). Some of the early work of Paul Cézanne (French, 1839-1906) fits into this style.

Examples of Paintings painted "en plein air":

Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883), Boating, 1874, oil on canvas, 38 1/4 x 51 1/4 inches (97.2 x 130.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910), Artists Sketching in the White Mountains, 1868, oil on wood panel, 9 7/16 x 15 13/16 inches, Portland Art Museum, OR.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Woman with a Parasol-- Madame Monet [Camille] and her Son (La Promenade. La Femme à l'Ombrelle), oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm, 1875.

Claude Monet, The Boat Studio (Le bateau atelier), 1876, oil on canvas, 28 3/8 x 23 1/2 inches, Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania

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John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925), Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood, c. 1885, oil on canvas, 54.0 x 64.8 cm, Tate Gallery, London. Although not usually considered an Impressionist, Sargent was enthusiastic about painting en plein air, as he did this portrait of his friend, Impressionist painter

John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-6, oil on canvas, 174.0 x 153.7 cm, Tate Gallery, London. Sargent painted this picture out of doors during a very brief period each evening when the light was at the same level, just after sunset (a time and kind of light called crepuscular). This procedure was explored by many Impressionist painters, and by Claude Monet most notably.