Week one of #PleinAirpril was a bit of a mess! But a fun mess. Due to terrible weather, I painted from within my car almost every day because the haar was endless.

As I mentioned in my Study Guide, week one was all about having fun and getting back into the swing of things. I gave myself total freedom to choose whatever subject inspired me in the moment, and just played in the sketchbook however felt good.

Make sure to watch the recap video at the end of this post.

Day 01 – Exploring something familiar

To start my week off I stayed in my own garden. I’m obsessed with my blooming Japanese Quince bush but the colors are intense and difficult to paint. Reds seem to trick my eyes (along with yellow) so I need a lot of practice. It’s something I hope to get better at this month. But I had a great time playing with color.

I like to do color notes like this, and also make notes about how what order I paing the layers. This helps me create a strategy.

Day 02 – Fitting in painting between errands

I had a busy day of errands in town, but on the way this view caught my eye. The heavy rain moved through the valley and every few minutes the lighting and colors were very different. I decided to paint it twice, 10 minutes each. Working fast and furious is a great way to remove pressure. It’s all about reacticing quickly in the moment.

Day 03 – Affa dreich

What a miserable day! I took a quick trip to the coast to paint the waves, but I could barely see past the shore through the heavy rain. I decided The winds were howling and blowing rain sideways onto the car. But the gorse bushes were blooming and the bright yellow caught my eye against the muted tones. Definitely worth some attention on a gross day.

Day 04 – Coastal

I woke up to another grey, windy, cold and rainy day. I probably wouldn’t have gone to the coast if I hadn’t had an appointment to see a venue for a potential workshop (spoiler, it’s happening). But thankfully after parking the sun popped out for a brief moment to light up the rocks. It gave me a spark of inspiration and I loved the warm colors against the cool sky.

Day 05 – Forest Therapy (kind of)

Another very wet day, and nearly freezing. They forecasted snow but thankfully we were spared. I spent some “time in the forest” to observe the subtle bark colors and textures. Not quite the full immersion I usually have, but I was also very grateful for my heated seats and protection from the rain!

It allowed me to be very patient while things dried so I could layer lots of lovely dry brush textures. That’s one of my favorite things about gouache.

Day 06 – Chad

The sun finally came out, but only because the windstorm blew away the clouds! We had 50 mph gusts, so I decided to stay in the car and paint in-between errands again. It turns out this is a great option for days you’re feeling overwhelmed or in a time crunch. I basically kept my painting kit in the car all week so it was ready at any time.

This was actually a very challenging scene as it was tons of layers of browns/muted tones. It was a great challenge in mixing color but NOT creating a muddy mess.

Within a few minutes, this big gull waddled over and started squawking at me loudly. I think I was parked next to his normal spot. His territory. I nicknamed him Chad. I can totally picture him saying “gie us a chip, min!” in his Scottish accent. If I had any chips, I would have.

I had to paint a little portrait of Chad, to remember our special connection.

Day 07 – Sunshowers at home

Today was really busy, but I squeezed a painting into the afternoon. There were nonstop sunshowers and very intense winds, so I painted from the living room. I thought the light hitting my neighbor’s garage was interesting, but WOW I didn’t prepare mentally to tackle as much as this! I simplified what I saw a ton, but it was still a bit overwhelming. However I really enjoyed the layering challenge, and playing with blues in the shadows.

Watch the video: