Painting every single day is not easy, and even less so when it’s outdoors! You are at the mercy of the weather and light, and if one of those is not playing ball, things can crumble quickly. But the lessons gained from building the discipline of daily painting in challenging conditions are well worth the struggles.
Every April I take part in the #PleinAirpril challenge – painting outside every day during April – and I feel myself grow quickly in a short time. The bonus is that I get a pretty collage at the end of it:
But the real lessons are found in the margins, the fine print, the quiet moments of contemplation during and between paintings.
Before I share some of my lessons learned, let’s talk about the purpose of this challenge. The purpose of painting outside in general. To me, the most important purpose is to learn to see and mix values and colors found in nature. You may have heard artists say “photo lie.” That’s because cameras can only capture so much detail, especially in shadows or highlights. Their processors are distilling a lot of information down to pixels, often minimizing detail and variety of value/color to get the sum of what it sees.
Studying from life is the only way to see true value and color found in nature.
You will need to decide YOUR purpose – because we all have different goals.
My secondary purpose to immerse myself in beautiful places, connect with nature, and have fun experiences. Some days this is the only thing that drives me to get out there.
So let’s dive into the meat of this post! These lessons are just the start – but they are things I wish I knew before I began my journey. And even now – they are still things I have to learn over and over!
Lesson #1 – Finished, not perfect
This is probably the most obvious, but something we artists often forget. When sketching and studying, it’s important not to get bogged down by perfection. A daily challenge is much more about repetition. Each day, whether you finish the sketch or not, you’ll learn something. Rather than focus on completing a perfect finished work you can sell, focus on what the lesson was.
This will help keep the momentum going, because let’s face it- even the best artists are going to have off days. Not every piece is worthy of praise/sharing/selling. But each piece is worthy of learning from.
Lesson #2 – Have a “Go Bag” ready at all times
I’ve talked about this so much, but it’s an easy thing to overlook. To make it easier to paint outside every day, you need to prepare a “go bag” that you keep by the door, or in the car. This is the easiest way to avoid the dreaded scramble of choosing art supplies 10 minutes before you go out, which inevitably leads to overthinking and delaying and maybe even talking yourself out of doing it because you can’t decide what to bring. Trust me, as an art-supply collector (it’s a serious hobby), I know the temptations to bring EVERYTHING.
Your kit can be as simple as a sketchbook and pen (highly recommend this for absolute beginners). Or a more elaborate hands-free setup with a pochade box. Whatever you decide, try the same setup a few days in a row to get used to it.
Want to geek out about plein air supplies with me? Check out my latest version of “favorite supplies”
By preparing your kit the night before, you are setting yourself up for the easiest possible start the next day. This is a task in itself which can (and should) become habit. Over the month, you will probably change supplies or have more than one setup for different subjects/locations. But at least you’re taking away the option for decision-fatigue before you even leave the house.
Lesson #3 – Micro vs. Macro
Something I hear a lot is that people are surprised when I “zoom in” on a far away subject rather than paint the wider vista. Or that they never thought to leave out the broken shed in front of the field of flowers. I get it, because when you’re new to plein air painting you might think you have to paint everything you see. In fact I often hone in on one or two details. I’ll fill pages with several small sketches. Whatever it takes to learn a thing.
You can move trees. Shift mountains. Add people. Whatever you want! If you feel like you need permission, this is me granting you permanent permission to be the architect of your world. Go bananas. Just don’t lose sight of your purpose.
I hope these tips help you along in your journey. Let me know your biggest lessons learned in the comments below!
Watch the journey and hear my lessons in this video (playlist in video description on YouTube):
Yes, I agree you inspire us all. I’m working on sketching faster and looser without striving for perfection. I enjoy your posts and YouTube videos (including ‘Sarah in Scotland’ ). Weather here in April is often cold and wet. Once we get warmer weather I’m out there whenever possible! I’m not one of those that will brave the cold or sit in my car to sketch or paint. I do keep a backpack ready to go which really helps. Meeting up with USKVancouver urban sketchers is fun and inspiring as well. Haven’t yet found a local plein air painting group but I do go out with a couple of friends regularly. No excuses then!
Thank you for this, it is a pleasure to read and pick up ideas. Why Plein Air? Though I am always learning from blogs, YouTube, magazines, and experimentation, my primary purpose while painting or sketching is never about what am I learning while painting, I do it for the enjoyment of being in the outdoors, hot or cold, and to capture the moment. Last week, standing by some rail tracks painting an iconic building, a lady stopped to chat, we got to talking about how would it turn out, I told her that even if it was not great, I was having a great time, so that is my purpose.
Thank you again for all your good insights, I will be using them – I always have my Pochade box at ready.
Hi thankyou. Sarah for the constant inspiration of fearless brush