Martha’s presentation and talk this evening was on the topic of “en plein air” or plein-air painting, which she explained is the act of painting in the open air. Martha says there are many ways that painting in this style that can make it seem frustrating, but encourages everyone to keep going and not be deterred, especially at the beginning of their journey as a plein-air painter. Things that affect a painter en plein air, are things like weather and changes in lighting during the time you have allotted for your painting. She encourages everyone to limit their work time to a few hours at a time, suggesting that approximately three hours is about ideal. She notes that one of the pleasures of painting in this manner is the accuracy of colors compared to a photo – you see the colors as they really are which can help you capture the moment as it occurred. It also forces you to simplify your subject, focusing on shadows, colors, and details that are lost in photography. Martha encourages everyone to hone their drawing skills, as with this technique you need to be able to work quickly in order to meet the time constraints you have established. You want to find your subject, set-up your materials, and paint the piece you have identified.

Martha says that creating emotion in your paintings using the plein-air process is what you are aiming for. You will be using all of your senses. You will hear the birds, feel things like the wind blowing, and sense the smells of the outdoors that will all contribute to the emotion that plein-air painting will lend to your piece. She advises that when starting out in this technique to pick out a simple subject while developing your skills as a plein-air painter. She feels that these skills will help you when you come back in the studio. A picnic table in front of a stream in the shade is one of Martha’s favorite settings to seek out. She advises too, that it is helpful to take a photograph before you start painting in order to have something to go back to as a reference later on, especially since shadows and lighting will have changed over the course of your painting session.

Martha likes to use a viewfinder tool to help hone in on her subject as well as do a series of thumbnail studies quickly to help her zero in on her subject development. She feels that this minimizes mistakes and makes it easier in the time she has allotted. Martha’s tip when painting with watercolor outdoors and how it dries so fast is to keep water and a spray bottle with you and work in the shade as the sun changes many pigments. She says she paints the sky and background areas first and then moves forward to the details.

Martha shared a variety of her works with the group as well as shared fun stories from her travels and plein-air painting experiences both locally and around the world. She also shared ideas for traveling with your plein-air materials to help make setting up anywhere easy and enjoyable. Martha encouraged everyone to “paint, paint, paint! Put your brushes to canvas and paint”.