Plein Air Painting

Sunday morning I went on what I would call my first "en plein air" painting excursion.  It may not technically be the first if I go by the literal definition of "in open air."  I have done some sketching outside with my sketch book and a few times have actually used watercolors on those sketches. But this is the first time I have gone out with the intention of painting, not sketching.

I have been taking a painting workshop with Rachel Teannalach to learn how to use oil paints. I haven't done much painting since college and we did not use oils in college; we used acrylics.  Rachel invited us students to join her in a paint out at sunrise in the foothills.  We actually arrived a little before the sunrise.  There was a sliver of moon out and several of us headed up the trail to find our painting location.

Here is Carrie, Rachel and Lorna working on their paintings.

This is my little set-up since I am not really equipped to do plein air painting.  I have my large palette I have been using in class, a towel to sit on (the ground was still frosty) and I taped a couple pieces of paper to a piece of sturdy cardboard.

One piece of paper is bright orange because with oil paints the surface needs to be primed before painting.  I chose an orange color.  I'm not ready to show you the finished pieces just yet.  Let's just say they don't look anything like what I was seeing.

Here is Lorna's set-up and painting.  She was using the box to hold her painting while she was working on it.

Although I am still not use to working with oil and get frustrated with it, it was a fun experience to go on the paint out.