Plein Air
 

What is this? It is a French term meaning painting outside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F86HvkQaz-o

This is a wonderful link, part art history, nice music, relaxing etc.
Then it moves on into the Plein Air painting of today. It is hosted by a publishing company who makes a magazine on this subject and also has a website. But it is a quality production in its own right.

This video only shows pastel and oil. But Plein Air can be watercolor, colored pencil, markers (there are nice watercolor marker/brushes out now), gouache (opaque watercolor) or casein (not very common anymore). It can be acrylic with no paint fumes, or even the new acryl gouache which can be painted over more easily than traditional gouache.

Here is a video by James Gurney--- he is a well known famous artist illustrator, who among many other things, wrote and illustrated the Dinotopia series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acmswl4fxkk

He is using simple supplies, a small sketchbook with good paper in it, and doing a small study of a planting outside a building.
You could draw with just pencil, Plein air.

Learning the basics of drawing is helpful, but some learn as they go along. Betty Edwards has a wonderful drawing book you can learn from easily---Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
It appears that her video is no longer on YouTube. This book is available used on Amazon for a very low price and is in many libraries.

Once you learn the few basics...you can do any painting you want. It is not that difficult. Only different than other things you already do well... as mentioned in the Plein Air video.

There is a satisfaction in using the Right Side of your brain...it frees many tensions and emotions which tend to get stuck and not expressed during our daily lives. Add in medical frustrations and chronic illness...and tension just escalates.

You can be somewhat abstract in Plein Air, or highly detailed as your personality dictates.

Think about it... and even give it a try. You just might be very surprised at what you can do. ;)

example:
 

I used to sit in the play area of my son's elementary school some
pretty days, and do drawings of the kids. I also would have permission to sit in a classroom or many...

This drawing is one I did in colored pencil. This was 30 yrs ago...
and the fancy ones that are out now were not available. I used the Prismacolor Verithins, because I could build up color slowly and cover up mistakes with erasing. I did the basic drawing in
light pencil and used some color notes, and finished it at home.
I think I did 2 visits to this play yard. The climbing thingey was called The Trojan Horse.

I recall one little girl came up to me, and said very seriously:
"What are you going to be when you grow up?" LOL

There were no digital cameras, no internet back then. I never used a film camera either. So I was forced to learn to work this way, which was a good thing for my future work.

Your Trojan Horse is incredible.
You're a real Renaissance Woman. Science and Art all balanced out in that brain of yours. :)

That's a wonderful drawing. I enjoyed the youtube video, too. The music was nice and relaxing. :)

another view of Trojan Horse...
 

I thought I had another one... and found it in my files.

We only took a few digital photos of that sketchbook entries, and this one is not quite centered.

That is my son in the center with his blond hair (which he outgrew eventually).

This one was easier too, with less wood work detail and more kids instead. ;)

I have alot of stuff to digitalize...I guess this winter will be busy doing all that transfer from sketchbooks, and older slides of finished work. :rolleyes:

Awesome!
 

Hi mrsD,

These are amazing drawings! Wow!:D

Great video, too!

You are so very talented!
I deeply appreciate your sharing so many fun and enlightening topics with us, your sharing so much of yourself with all of us! :grouphug:

You are so very gifted. Thanks for sharing your many gifts with us. :grouphug:

DejaVu

Plein Air disasters:
 

This is a video of what can happen to artists when they work
outside...

It is pretty interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zXFiz0sx90