Plein Air

I recently purchased a travel pochade box (thank you Ben for creating a custom smaller version for me!) so I can dive into plein air painting. Plein air painting is an old form of painting where the artist travels outside of the studio and creates a piece outdoors, while in front of their subject. Monet was a very big proponent of this style, often time painting 10 or 12 pieces in a row as the light changed! Most of the time the artist will create the piece, alla prima, which means 'first attempt' or all in one sitting. My plan was to use this as a hiking kit, travel to a location, create a painting, and then hike out. It took a few tries to get the pack situation figured out, what tools and snacks to bring in order to be truly portable. Below you can see the setup and a few paintings I have attempted with this new piece of hardware. 

started on site, but had to leave in a hurry--finished in studio

maiden voyage! canandaigua lake vista

started a cool sketch of the boathouses and then a truck blocked my view! 

a paint outing with canandaigua's finest artists

My lovely girlfriend giving it a whirl!