Artistic Insights from the Studio of Erica Norelius

  The first week of August 2023, I attended a local plein air Paintout hosted by the Frank Bette Center in Alameda. This was the second year in a row I participated as it was conveniently located 30-40 mins away from my house. I stay busy with my family, work, and our dog, so my considerations for the Paintout were such that I could come home every night, continue with my kid's activities and be able to walk the dog in the evening. This is a different situation from the norm where artists travel to a location to stay in a hotel or host family in the direct area they are painting. 

  Over the years, I've found that many artists and collectors only have a rough idea of these what these paint outs entail and even what defines plein air painting. For those artists who are considering applying for a plein air event, I hope that my recap of my week will give you an idea of the expectations for many of these events as well as prepare you for the physical and mental challenges involved in producing so many paintings in such a short time frame. For all art lovers, this post is a great way to understand what plein air painting is and the work involved in making those paintings. 

Plein air painting is the act of painting a landscape on location from life. This way of painting became popular during the time of the Impressionists. Currently, a strong and passionate group of artists almost exclusively work en plein air. Other artists work en plein air to study light and color to bring back into their studio work.

Time constraint is one of the biggest challenges these painters face. As the day progresses, so does the sun overhead, shifting the shadows and values of objects. And if you're painting towards the beginning or end of the day, there are dramatic shifts in the color of the light as well. Typically an artist will spend up to 2 hours on a piece.

  Another challenge of painting on location is finding your subject matter. Rarely will an artist be presented with a beautiful composition consisting of a dynamic design, great lighting, and stunning color. Instead, it's a hunt to find and discover a new way of looking at something rather mundane in order to present it in a new light. In conjunction with the short time frame, many artists can only focus on one, maybe two, artistic elements such as value, composition, drawing, perspective, or color. For example, let's call attention again to the impressionists and their plein air work. They were actively looking at the effect of light and color while allowing other artistic elements, such as value and drawing, to be secondary. 

Third, let's also remember the environment. Standing in the sun is exhausting. The shade can be too cold, an unexpected rain cloud can and will appear, and the wind can sap the energy from you before you've even begun. Once your hands start trembling from the cold, it's hard to concentrate, let alone place some accurate brushstrokes down. And when you think you've found a nice secluded spot far away from the ocean, an errant wave will cause you to run to the cliffs. Or a great gust of wind will blow your easel away or knock your almost finished painting off so it lands facedown in the sand. Sometimes the ambiance is not ideal, loud noises from traffic or construction bombard your ears, a truck parks in the middle of your scene, and tourist after tourist comes to take a picture with you. You might find yourself doing more talking than painting. Or the completely unexpected happens, like a dog who runs up all friendly and tail wagging, only to grab a new tube of cadmium paint from your bag and take it across the fields with it. 

  So now that you know what plein-air painting is, what is a plein-air paintout? A plein-air paintout is a competition of only plein-air paintings in a specific location. Generally, these events are juried or even by invitation only, and quite a few artists make a living going from event to event throughout the year. Many competitions are week-long, although some can be as few as 2-3 days. Two to four dozen artists usually participate in each event. Every artist must get their panels/canvases stamped at the very beginning of the event to ensure that every painting is created during the timeline. In addition, using photographs to develop or even finish an image is not allowed; however, you can go back to the scene multiple days to continue painting. 

  At the end of the week, all artists must professionally frame their paintings (many times while they are still wet) and display them in a public showing. Here collectors and art admirers are invited to meet the artists and buy paintings. Generally, a guest judge will jury the show, picking a few paintings as finalists and award winners. Getting an award is a great way to boost your reputation as an artist and bring home some extra cash or supplies.