My

way of Plein Air Painting

By DAVID FREEDMAN

Tips for beginners painting in any medium.

South Esk river, Hadspan, Tasmania. Pastel

1 Introduction


‘En plein Air’ translated from the French phrase
meaning painting” in the open air” was popularized in
the mid 19th the century by the French
Impressionists. They were interested in capturing
atmosphere, luminosity and a sense of space from
direct observation of the world out in the open. The
invention of ready made paint in tubes and the
convenience of the box easel helped to make this
genre of painting popular.

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I have been painting Plein Air for over 40 years and
have discovered it to be one of the most rewarding
and satisfying pursuits possible.

It is an immense challenge to start off with a blank
surface and finish with recording an idea and having
something tangible to show others what was in my
mind when I started. It is a way of preserving that
moment in time when you are moved by a visual
experience. A painting is an intensely personal
recording and preserving of a a feeling. It requires a
concentrated analysis of the subject and of significant
degree of simplification. Decisions on choice of
subject when confronted by a world full of
information, and, then its organization into a pleasing
balanced design, are entirely ones own and so are

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very personal. There are a multitude of small choices
required for completion of a Plein Air painting. They
involve choosing the subject creating a design by
employing simplification, omission, addition,
exaggeration and rearranging the elements within the
composition. Choices of tone, color, shape and edge
quality have to be made throughout the process.
These are also personal and are in charge from start
to finish. A photo, on the other hand, needs far less
personal input . The decision to press the button is
made after choosing, designing and focusing the
camera . Unless the resultant photo is manipulated in
a computer program, that’s practically all that is
required.

My principle aim is to attempt to describe in two
dimensions what I see before me in three. I am well
aware many modern and abstract painters are not at
all concerned with producing this illusion and are
happy to flatten their work and concentrate on and
emphasize other basic elements such as feeling
design, drama, color , shape, symbolism or texture.

This booklet is aimed at those beginners who wish to
develop a traditional approach to Plein Air painting.
For me,the natural landscape and its abundant
diversity and ever changing beauty is best conveyed
by avoiding undue distortion and recording it as I see
and interpret it. Nature is so awe inspiring I believe it
needs no significant distortion or manipulation, only
the orchestration necessary to record it in a painting.

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South Esk River, Launceston. Pastel

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Few start painting with some fortunate genetic gift
making them proficient almost immediately. An artist
doesn’t take over from where others left off in the
same way as a scientist. You have to learn to draw
from the beginning. Capacity is slowly developed by a
combination of desire to improve and a commitment
to work towards a greater understanding. It is
necessary to persist in spite of frequent disappointing
early results. This is probably the case with every,
skill or art form.

It has me taken a long time and immense application
to understand and gain the basic skills necessary to
complete a work worthy of retaining .The vast
majority of my first attempts ended up in a rubbish
bin. At first I was intimidated by the apparent talent
of others. Through considerable practice I discovered
that reasonable results were attainable by the gradual
accumulation of knowledge and experience.

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Back Beach, Blairgowrie. Pastel

Gradually, with persistence you will improve and
your successful finished painting rate will also
increase. It is the purpose of this brief book to save
you from many of the frustrations I experienced by
listing suggestions which I have found helpful along
my own path of discovery.
There are a host of more detailed instructional books
on Plein Air painting in the different media. Many of
these contain an exhaustive account of materials and
methods. This book will concentrate on a practical
approach for one wishing to commence their journey.
A comprehensive overview of this subject is beyond
the scope of any book or even any library of books. It
is an enormous field without boundaries.
.

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Murray river, Echuca. Pastel


2 Why paint in Plein Air?


Some ask why Plein Air? surely it is much more
convenient to produce a painting in the controlled
atmosphere and comfort of a studio. There are many
factors and variables at play out in the open making
the task more far more difficult and sometimes very
frustrating.
Poor weather conditions are an example. Painting in
hot or humid days or with cold, wind, dust, fog or rain
can be at times problematic if not impossible. The
suns light and clouds are constantly moving. In an
instant the scene can change as light and shadows
move, or as in some cases, it can destroy it entirely.

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Insects like ants, flies, mosquitos and bees can be
incredibly annoying. I was once descended on by a
plague of locusts flying into the wet surface of an oil
painting. Occasionally my easel has blown over by an
unexpected gust of wind tipping over a colorful array
of pastels or paints and brushes and leaving them
littered on the ground or in the sand.

Murray River Sunset Pastel

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Snakes, bulls, barking dogs, sheep, cows and other
animals are hazards easily avoided in a studio.
Inquisitive, inconsiderate or well meaning but over
friendly people can be very distracting. It is best to
politely remind them you only have a limited time to
finish the painting.
It is difficult to attempt Plein Air painting in a busy
tourist area. St Marks Square in Venice was a
nightmare for this reason. I had to encourage several
people to move their heads to allow the brush to meet
the canvas. On another occasion I was ordered to
leave an isolated paddock in the French country side.
A farmer had an issue with me for trespassing on
what I mistakenly thought was public land and had
contacted police who arrived dramatically sirens
blazing. On another I was stranded on a rock at a
ocean and was so totally absorbed in the painting I
failed to notice the tide coming in. In great haste I
had to pack up and make a dash for the shore.

Admittedly these are unusual circumstances but
wind, rain and sometimes noise are not uncommon.
As I was often on call for the emergency department
of a local hospital it was not unusual for my painting
to be abruptly aborted by a phone call.
So why even consider painting out of doors? It would
at first sight seem a suitable definition for madness.

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Mallee Lane , Swan Hill . Watercolour


It is rewarding simply to be out in the open where the
immense beauty of nature is all around you. One can
be quickly inspired by the wonder of being part of a
landscape. There is such an abundant diversity of
amazing scenery . The feeling of freedom is
symbolized by the many birds often accompanying
you. A multitude of painting subjects can present
themselves as you look around.

In Plein Air painting it is far easier to make the many
required choices because the analysis of shapes, tonal
and color gradients, particularly in shadows, is
readily discernable. Form presents itself directly in
three dimensions. Distance is right in front of you.
The task of accurately depicting atmosphere, space,

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luminosity and form is much faster and simpler than
trying to interpret it from a photo or make it up in
your imagination. There is less time for fiddling or
giving undue attention to detail which can often
compromise a painting.
Plein Air painting is an exhilarating experience rarely
reproducible in a studio. You are forced to be decisive
and to rapidly assess the basic elements as they are in
a constant state of change . With experience this
leads to a deeper understanding. Apart from
achieving a far fresher and accurate result you are left
with a memory of the events associated with the
excursion. If shared with a friend it can be a even
richer and more rewarding experience.
On balance despite the possible difficulties described
above the advantages of Plein Air painting are
overwhelming. Through sensible selection of weather
conditions and location, most of the hazards and
difficulties can be avoided.

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Sunset, Port Hedland.WA. Pastel



The creative process is a human activity which
manifests itself in millions of different ways. We are
all individuals. From our strengths and weaknesses to
our personality we are all unique. Our interpretation
and recording of a visual or any other stimulus is
intensely personal. It follows there is an inherent
individual style within every one of us, so amply
demonstrated in our in our handwriting and
signature. This is largely unconscious. There is no
need to try to faithfully copy or emulate the method,
style or formula presented by another painter be they
our teachers or the painters we admire and revere. At
best we can only become a second or third rate clone
of that painter. It is absolutely impossible to make the
myriad of subtle decisions unique to another person.
It is even exceedingly difficult to faithfully copy your
own work.

Striving consciously to develop your own style is not
a factor with which you should be at all concerned.
My recommendation is just paint as you see and feel
and let your unconscious nature be your guide. Once
a level of control is attained a style will emerge.

This is not to say you shouldn’t learn as much as you
can from a teacher through demonstration, lectures,
lessons or workshops. These are an excellent and

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almost essential way of rapidly acquiring the required
basic knowledge to gain a measure of control. A good
teachers experience is invaluable. Once the basic
truths are grasped however I recommend allowing
your personality to blossom by just continuing to
paint. Your understanding will improve and control
will naturally follow. Experience and time are vital
factors in the development of a style and it is best if it
is your own and is not forced.

This publication will concentrate on the basic
considerations applicable to painting in all media.

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Coldstream, Victoria . Oil




1 Materials

It is beyond the scope of this publication to go into
any detail on equipment. This subject is adequately
described in a host of publications, some specifically
devoted to the particular medium in which you are
most interested. I will make only a few very general
points here.

Firstly it is best to use the best equipment you can
afford and have it organized in the lightest and most
easily transportable pack. Apart from checking that

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all your art equipment is packed you must remember
to take all those essential personal items required to
keep you comfortable and equipment to carry the
painting.
A hat, nourishment, drink , insect repellant,
protective clothing and sunscreen are examples. I
have over the years at some stage forgotten each of
these. It can be devastating to drive a considerable
distance and cart equipment to a beautiful location
only to forget insect repellent when flies or mosquitos
begin to attack in in numbers. A small light trolley is
of considerable help to cart equipment particularly if
you are painting some distance from your vehicle.


Insert….Pictures of my set ups for Pastel .Oil and
watercolor.

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2 Choice of a subject .



This is the first, often the hardest, but always the
most important decision to be made. It is a waste to
spend too much time searching endlessly for the
perfect subject. Remember you are at liberty to use
the elements before you and construct and
orchestrate your own subject. This is a very liberating
factor because the time spent searching can be
significantly reduced. Of course in doing this it is
advisable to try to retain the reason you chose the
subject and not alter it so drastically that this is
forgotten.
If time is a factor, remember you are essentially
creating a design, then describing the various forms
in terms of tone shape and color. All this is available
in your own garden.

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Once having selected a destination it is profitable to
spend a little time walking around it and taking in the
general feel of the region. At the same time you give
yourself time to relax and clear your mind before
being are required to concentrate and focus on the
task ahead. Too much haste in this early stage usually
leads to the start of a failed painting.

In general painting subjects tend to present
themselves in the morning or afternoon and evening
when the sunlight strikes the side of objects throwing
shadows to their sides. Painting subjects in the
middle of the day, particularly if the sun is shining
strongly directly overhead and bleaching out the
color can be difficult to find. Ideally there should be at
least foreground, middle ground and distance
components. Complicated subjects are difficult to
paint plein air because of the time limit. Of course it is
possible to return to the site on another occasion but
it is hard to reproduce the same weather and light
conditions.

Works can be completed and refined back in the
studio. Oil paintings may be helped by glazing with
dilute transparent pigment to harmonize colors or by
scumbling with slightly opaque pigment to lighten
specific passages. Pastels are the easiest paintings to
modify because there is no drying and its relatively
quick and easy to apply one pastel over another.
Unwanted edges can be a difficulty by refining
watercolors once they have dried. There remains
always the danger of destroying the freshness and
spontaneity of the painting.

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I suggest you begin by asking yourself a few
questions. Appropriate answers to these will help you
decide either to proceed with or reject a possible
subject. This process will in time become rapid and
almost unconscious.

What idea would I like to remember or show to
another person? Is it sufficiently interesting to
record? What specific elements do I like? Is there
enough contrast or drama present? Do the colors, the
shapes, the edges or some of the objects in the scene
strike me as appealing.

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What small section of the landscape should I focus on
and will I have time to complete it? (As time is
limited a small painting is more likely to be
successfully finished than a large one. I would suggest
no larger than 10 by 12 inches to begin with.)

What is the subject likely to look like in an hour and a
half when the position of the sun or the weather has
changed?

Will I be able to transport my equipment safely to and
from the site?

After consideration of these questions it is usually
possible to make a decision to proceed or look again
at another location. Often a subject is initially
problematic, however once the painting has begun it
becomes a great deal more interesting .You have
initiated the process of analysis and you start to
notice interesting complexities and subtle elements
you missed initially.

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Southcombe on Sea, England. Oil


After selecting a subject it is wise to try to see it in
your mind as a finished painting before you start. This
will help you to retain that initial idea. It is advisable
to avoid the a mistake of changing the painting by

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following the changing light as this will often lead to
areas within the picture falling out of sync with each
other .It is always my aim to complete the majority of
the painting within an hour and a half to maintain the
same light consistency as much as possible.

Finally a couple of questions need to be considered
before you begin.

What tonal range or key would best be employed: the
whole tonal range or just part of it? If the subject is in
full sunlight you will require a high key or full range
of tone and color intensity. If it’s a foggy day the
opposite will usually apply.

What mood does it convey? Does it make you feel
excited happy, sad, fearful, angry , uplifted or
depressed?

What is the best viewing angle? Is there a comfortable
position in the shade or on flat ground on which to
stand or sit? It is always best to paint from a
comfortable position.



I will now briefly discuss some general considerations
before a examples of my methods are described.

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Learning to look and digest what you are seeing and
feeling is the essence and the legacy of Plein Air
painting.

In music, teachers often refer to “deep listening” as an
aid to understanding. For landscape painting the
same term could be applied to direct observation.
“deep looking.” or digesting and being very sensitive
to the structure, detail and mood of the subject.

This involves carefully assessing all the basic
elements in the field. Focus is required on shapes .
tone ,color , texture, edges, transitions. There is also
an extra dimension. This is difficult to describe but
has to do with feeling. For example the relaxing
timeless sensation one experiences observing the
reflections at the edge of a beautiful still lake or the

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relentless power experienced standing on a cliff
above a roaring wild ocean. The perfumes in the
landscape, the weather and other events in your life
may influence how you feel and contribute to this
dimension. It is elusive and impossible to define.
There is no formula or method to include it but
practice and experience will help bring this into your
work just as it can in music.

A study of the great painters of the past and present
is extremely helpful in demonstrating how they
solved some of the problems with which you are
confronted as a landscape painter. It is also a valuable
exercise and fun to paint still life subjects in a studio
where “deep looking’ practice can be applied more
easily to a static subject .

Examples of still life subjects






Teapot taken from a still life ….Oil

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White flowers in a green vase. Oil



Learning to see like a painter takes time and
experience. This process is difficult to convey in
words. It is a very visual experience but is helped by
thinking and answering questions consciously or
subconsciously put to one self. I find in the

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immediate period following the completion of a
painting there is often a heightened awareness of the
landscape. The intense concentration required and
the insight gained during the process is often later
transferred for a brief period to other scenes. The
study of paintings by accomplished artists both in
books, galleries or museums can be of great help.
They provide many answers but nothing replaces
direct painting experience.

Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania Pastel

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 Simplification and reorganization is the essence of
Plein Air painting.

In order to break down what is essentially a complex
task it is helpful to ask a few questions.

1 What are the tonal shape masses in the field and
can I limit these to 3 or 4 ?.How can I simplify the
scene but still retain its essence.
2 What are the tonal relationships of the elements. I
suggest you divide them up into five.
Darkest ,Lightest , Middle and one in between each of
these.
Although there are an infinite number of tones in
nature the eye can only usefully distinguish a small
number in a painting.
Frequent screwing up your eyes is of great help in
reducing the subject to a tonal set of masses by
obscuring unnecessary detail.
3 What is the darkest dark and what is its
temperature? There may be several darkest dark
masses and they may be different colors and
temperatures. The darkest dark sets the key for the
painting and is nearly always at the bottom of the
painting situated in front of all other darks. Paintings
are usually read from the bottom up.
.
4 What is the brightest light and what is its color and
temperature. This is also in front of all other lights.
5 What shapes should I best manipulate to produce
an aesthetic, pleasing and balanced design. In a
painting you are like the conductor of an orchestra.
Even better you can move mountains.

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Answering these questions is part of deep looking.

4 Design

Design is probably the most important consideration
after selection of the subject. It should be given great
attention before launching into a painting. It is its
structural framework like the beat is to music. Small
diagrams (notan drawings) on a paper pad are
invaluable. These can be quickly drawn using flat
areas of dark and light values in one color. I suggest
you make several quick sketches concentrating on the
arrangement of simple shapes and lines before
starting your painting. Select the most pleasing and
interesting for the basis of your design. There are no
hard and fast rules. Your own taste will guide you. If

30
they don’t appear interesting in this format they will
not work in a painting no matter how much effort and
refinement is attempted.
Design is the organization of lines, shapes and masses
in an interesting arrangement where the whole is
seen as a pleasing unit. It should also bring out the
initial idea in the mind of the painter. If the picture

can appear more appealing by moving a mass or
altering a component the original design is probably
poor.


There is no formula available for a good design. It is
one of the exciting challenges for the painter. It is the
essentially personal artistic element and has to do
with taste. There are however a few guidelines
available and things to avoid. Variety of shape and

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avoidance of undue repetition or symmetry is
desirable. There should also appear the element of
deliberation or intent. Fine jazz soloists work appears
logical when there is intent. Their lines appear to
follow each other easily and be structured despite
being improvised in the moment. A good design
should also appear logical. If a part of the painting
appears awkward or unnecessary then the intent is
uncertain and the design questionable.

Portsea,Vic. Pastel

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Cocos keeling Islands. Pastel


Balance is a large part of design and all the basic
elements (shape, tone , color ,edges and texture)
require attention and should be distributed in a
pleasing way. Most landscapes involve a horizontal
which is often the horizon. This is a good starting
point. The addition of strong vertical lines helps with
interest and drama. Curved lines or shapes are
generally softer and allow a more poetic peaceful and
restful element to the work. Beauty is impossible to
define but is an important component.
I suspect it is follows the pleasing combination of all
the basic elements and considerations in much the

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same way that jealousy is a mixture of many different
emotions.

Ocean beach, Blairgowrie. Pastel



5 Setting up

When setting up to paint Plein Air there are a number
of factors to consider.
It is best to choose a comfortable surface to stand on
rather than a restricted or sloping one. Room to move
back from time to time allows a reassessment of the
work from a distance. Use of a mirror or turning the
painting upside down serves the same purpose.
.

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Ideally both the painting surface and the pallet should
be in the shade. If the canvas or paper is in direct
sunlight the finished painting will look severe and
have too much contrast when viewed in the reduced
light of a studio. A brightly colored umbrella or
clothing can reflect color onto the work producing an
unintended distortion. A neutral grey umbrella is
advisable.
The angle of the surface you are painting on should
be close to right angles to the wind to minimize the
chance of an accidental disaster such as an oil
painting finishing face down in the sand .

Approaching Storm, Gull Rock bay , Albany .WA.
Pastel

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6 Media.


Watercolor is at its best a transparent medium where
the white of the paper is the brightest tone.
Gouache is employed on colored paper where the
paper serves as a mid tone and opaque white is
contained in the colors to create tones lighter than
the paper This medium allows the paint to be
“reactivated” by wetting and in this way is more
versatile than pure water color.
Pastel is opaque but no drying is necessary and
adjustments can be made easily.
Oil and Acrylic paintings have both transparent and
opaque properties. The challenge of painting with
these is to obtain a mix of the two properties to
highlight this versatility and add variety in the
painting. Personal preference and conditions
determine can which medium you use but they are all
challenging.
Watercolor is difficult in cold or humid conditions
because of slow drying between layers. The tubes of
paint can quickly become destroyed by mould in
tropical conditions. Pastel is possible in most dry
weather conditions but the results are unstable. They
require protection using glycine paper and careful
handling before securely and appropriately matted
and framed behind glass. Oil painting requires the
carting of solvents and cleaning equipment and is
impossible in dusty conditions

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The fundamental design principles and basic tonal
color and edge structure of a work in each of these
different media is the same. The technique and
stepwise production process is different in each case.
I will show how I handle these differences in more
detail with an example of each in later chapters.

Direction beach, Cocos keeling Islands. Pastel


7 General considerations of Light

An essential consideration for the traditional
landscape painter is to understand that light is
progressively absorbed by gases, particles of dust and

37
tiny droplets of water in the air as it travels through
the atmosphere.
Three things happen as we look into the distance .The
color becomes bluer and therefore colder, it fades and
appears lighter in tone and its intensity is diminished
making it increasingly greyer.

Those changes are employed in painting and creating
the three dimensional illusion of depth. The
importance of this cannot be over emphasized.

Firstly yellow light wavelengths are filtered out, then
red, and finally blue. Once you enter space beyond
our atmosphere (at approximately 160 Km)
everything is pitch black apart from the bright light
reflected from planets or produced by stars like our
sun.

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This phenomenon of selective light wavelength
absorption helps us to distinguish and see distance
and recession in nature.
All colors containing yellow are the first to go. A field
that looks very yellow close to you will progressively
become less yellow and colder as it recedes into the
distance until no trace of yellow can be detected at all.
Red is next and finally blue tones become light and
grey. White does not change color but becomes a pale
grey and eventually difficult to define.

8 Light and its direction

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The direction and intensity of the light assists in
describing the form of masses and the direction of
their shadows cast.
The color of shadows cast will be related to the color
of the surface they fall on. Shadows on bright green
grass will be dark green whereas those on a red rock
will be dark red. They will be increasingly blue and
colder on sunny days as the color of the sky is
reflected into them. As they approach the base of the
object they represent they will become warmer and
darker as less blue light falls on them. Peripheral
edges of shadows become softer and rounder as they
are further from their source because more light is
present Shadows in recesses and holes will be darker
than on the relatively flat surface next to them as light
is excluded.
Light shining on an object will cast a shadow with a
hint of its complementary color. This is to do with the
way our eyes perceive color. The orange light of a
sunset will create shadows with a blueish mauve
tinge. Blue being the complementary color of orange.
When adding this in a painting it can be tempting to
exaggerate and over do it.

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Last light Bicheno, Tasmania Pastel


Light from the sky falling on a flat surface will give it a
lighter tone than that falling on a surface at an angle.
This is simply because more light is striking it. For
example a similar colored paddock on the side of a
mountain will have a slightly darker tone than a flat
one in front of it. As the mountain rises up it will
become cooler and lighter. This is because there is
more atmosphere between the viewer and the top of
the mountain and first the yellow then red
wavelengths of reflected light are filtered out. Vertical
shadows will be darker again because they generally
have the least light falling on them.

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 The direction of the light source is a factor in
determining tonal relationships. If an object like the
side of a building has the sun shining on it from an
angle, as at the start or end of the day, it may be
lighter in tone than the flat surface of the ground
around it. As light it falls across a rounded object and
the angle of incidence changes, tonal and color
gradients are formed. These transitions allow beauty
and movement to be included in the depiction of the
mass.

9 Tone(or value)

A helpful rule is that the sky and the clouds are
almost always the lightest tone mass in the landscape.
Sky holes through trees permit light to break up a
shape. The smaller the hole the less light appears to
shine through it. The immediate surrounding foliage

42
is lightened as the light bends around it. It is a
mistake to make these holes brighter than the sky
mass. They are nearly always ever so slightly darker.


At least three different tones are required to produce
the illusion of three dimensional form. Every part of a
landscape has form except a perfectly flat surface. It
follows that every tree trunk or foliage mass or any
other object is best described in a minimum of three
tones. This may be almost imperceptible in a paddock
but can be indicated by including its texture in a
painting. It is particularly important to remember
this when painting the ocean which is rarely flat.

43


A perfectly flat surface will change in color, intensity,
temperature and tone as it recedes into the distance
again because the light it reflects is increasingly
absorbed by the atmosphere It will become bluer,
colder and lighter.

Dusk, Murray river, Echuca. Pastel


Harnessing atmospheric perspective is one of two
principle ways of creating the illusion of three
dimensions in a painting. The other is linear
perspective where lines and vanishing points are
employed to depict objects appearing to change
shape and become smaller with increasing distance.

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The latter is complicated in landscape painting as
there are multiple vanishing points present in most
landscapes. Careful observation and drawing is
required. The science of linear perspective is not as
important in Plein Air painting as it is in architectural
drawing requiring great precision. There is no need
for rulers and other technical aids rather try to see
and describe every single shape as having volume. In
other words, draw and suggest form not flat surfaces.

The color of an object is the balance between the light
absorbed and light reflected. Light shining behind an
object (back lit) tends to wrap itself around it
reducing its local color at the edge. If the sky is blue
the edge will take on a shade of blue and be lighter in
tone than in the body of the object A small branch of
a tree will appear lighter than the trunk despite both
being the same color when viewed with light shining
on its front( front lit).This phenomenon is called
diffraction.

To summarize;
The light immediately adjacent to a darker mass is
darker than the main body of light. The edge of the
darker body immediately adjacent to the light is in
turn lighter than its main body. Applying this subtlety
to your painting will help give it a luminous
atmospheric quality. In other words great care should
be given to the painting of edges using the above
considerations.
When painting shadows or any dark passages
remember they tend to loose their yellow and red
components of light earlier than light passages and as

45
a consequence look bluer on recession. This is
particularly important to bear in mind when
depicting shadows on mountains.

Beachport, SA. Gouache

46





Edges.

Oak Tree France Oil


Part of deep looking is to assess the boundaries of
your shapes. There is a large variation in edge quality
in nature from the almost undetectable soft edge to
the very defined hard edge. It is wise to ask yourself

47
which hard edges are essential and emphasize these.
Generally only about ten percent are necessary in a
painting. Including more than this tends to take away
the poetic softness and gentleness of a work and is
not in keeping with what we see in nature. Try to
include a spectrum of different edge qualities. All too
often a beginner pays little or no attention to this
element of a landscape. Edges should decrease in
their sharpness as they approach the periphery of the
painting. This helps keep the center as the area of
interest.

10 Color

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Harmony achieved by mixing primary colors.

It is wise to restrict the number of the initial colors to
the primaries when painting in oil and acrylic to
achieve harmony. This is helped by mixing small
quantities of these colors on your pallet before
starting so that every new combination contains a
different percentage of the 3 primary colors chosen in
combination with white. The possible combinations
are infinite. Within ten minutes or so you can make a
beautiful array of colors all of which are related. By
keeping the colors and tones of the landscape in your
mind as you mix you can quickly approximate most of
them. These serve as an extended pallet of color
which can be easily modified to achieve accuracy. It is
fun to vary the principal primary colors for a
subsequent painting thus adding to the variety in
your work.

In oil and acrylic painting it is important to both mix
color on the pallet before applying it to the canvas
and to also clean your brush. This requires discipline
but achieves a crisp painting. Smudging or undue
mixing on the canvas risks contamination and
eventually leads to a dirty messy work. With
watercolor it is also good to limit the principle colors
but mixing can occur on the paper and colors be
allowed to self mix while still wet. With pastel
blending takes place on the paper. As it is harder to
obtain a vast array of colors by blending many

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different pastels are required and I don’t practice any
restriction .

Harmony is also assisted by avoiding undue
localization of color. Spread the colors through the
painting as much as is consistent with the subject. All
to easily a painting can appear in sections, each
bearing little relation to the other.
Large flat shapes of a single color are almost never
found in nature so you are at perfect liberty to vary
your color slightly but be careful to retain the overall
shape of the form being painted Subtle use of small
juxtaposed passages of red, yellow and blue hues of
the color and tone in same the area was employed by
the French impressionists to achieve luminescence.
Our eyes and mind tend to blend these passages
together creating a soft glowing feeling.

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In order to make your work easily readable it is best
to minimize the number of shapes. Failure to do this
results in a very busy confusing appearance. This is
achieved by joining shapes of the same tone together
without an obvious edge. This is particularly

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important foe the dark tones as they are the most
prominent. Instead of having ten or twelve dark areas
of similar tone breaking up a design, simply linking
them and reducing them to two or three will almost
always improve the look of the picture.

11 Color Temperature

The color blue conveys a cool somber impression
while yellow and orange are warm and convey a
happy feeling. Warm colors project an image forward
while cool causes it to recede. The impact of a color
depends upon the colors around it. It will be much
more prominent if it sits next to its complementary
color.

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Light against dark and cool next to warm are the
greatest and most useful tools in the painters
armamentarium. The juxtaposition of opposite tones
and colors create drama and tension whereas similar
ones and create peace and rest. In painting ,as in
music the aim is to create a pleasing balance of both.

12 Focus

When you observe the world and focus on something
your eyes and mind to a large extent disregard
objects outside your small area of interest. Peripheral
vision does not see the rest of our field of vision in
much detail at all. It appears blurred. This is best also
applied to the painting. The area of interest should
appear in sharp focus and strong contrast and is best
situated around the middle of the picture. This should
diminish as your eye approaches the edges of the
painting helping the work mimic a real life
experience. The number of hard edges in a landscape
is probably far less than ten percent and this should
also be reflected in the painting particularly around
its periphery

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13 Reflected light
There are two forms of light striking objects in a
landscape. Direct light shining from the sky and
reflected light bouncing off surrounding objects.

Reflected light is found in the shadow of an object
and its always darker than direct light, Its intensity
and color depend on its source. This phenomenon is
particularly useful in creating beautiful passages if
subdued light in shadows.


Sky

The sky is blue because the gases in the air cause the
white light from the sun to break up into its

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component wavelengths. These are all the colors of
the rainbow. The process is called diffraction. Blue
wavelengths are short and are the first to be
scattered. They are scattered in all directions causing
the sky to appear blue. Where light has to travel
through thicker atmosphere at sunset and dawn the
longer wavelengths of red and yellow are also
scattered. The amount of diffraction is also influenced
by moisture, dust, smoke, and other contaminants .


Clouds

Clouds appear white because they are composed of
dense droplets of water vapor which cause far
greater diffraction affecting all wavelengths. With all
wavelengths being simultaneously scattered white
light is produced again. With recession the dark
bottom component of the cloud follows the rules of
atmospheric perspective and become colder, bluer
and lighter The top part of the cloud does the
opposite and becomes pinker and warmer pinker and
darker. The edges of clouds are not the whitest part
because the vapor is thinner allowing more blue sky
light to pass through.
.

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Trees

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Trees are a common feature of most landscapes and
are fun to paint. Their masses and shape can be easily
moved to assist the design. Trees have their own
personality and their character is often far more
interesting than trees made up in our imagination.
When depicting them its important to bear in mind
the following. Generally their branches taper they are
further from the trunk and branches pointing forward
bear their topside whilst those pointing backward
show us their under side. Edges soften and become
lighter as they meet the sky. In general leaf clusters
are mid tone and the trunks a tone darker. Branches
in front of a sky will be dark whilst those in front of
other objects will appear lighter.


A common mistake in the portrayal of trees is to
break up branches and leaves into too many shapes .
When painting leaves, delineate a few and suggest the
rest. It is far preferable to record each in its overall
shape making sure there is variety if you have more
than one tree. Branches of leaves each have form so
there is the opportunity to introduce color and tonal
gradients. This must be done without breaking up the
form of the tree as a whole. Sky holes should show
variety in size and position and they are darker than
the sky mass depending in their size (as mentioned
earlier.) Often the beginner will paint a series of
similar tree shapes with the majority of limbs
branching off at sixty degree angles.

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Croton tree Raboul, PNG Watercolor

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Flood, Nyah forest. Oil.






Reflections in water.

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The beauty of water is that it is capable of reflecting
light like a mirror. Its reflections depend on
prevailing circumstances. These include the position
of the observer in relation to the direction of the light.
Its depth , the color of the water and the layer
beneath it. Surface movement a result of waves, flow
or wind are also important factors.
In general reflections pass vertically down towards
the observer becoming softer and lighter whilst the
water itself tends to become darker and greyer.
There is tonal compression with both the lights
darker and the darks lighter than the source of the
reflections. As well there is reduced chroma and
definition.

The addition of a a streak of light formed by a ripple
will assist you in the depiction of the water.

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Pretty Pool ,Port Hedland WA. Pastel

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Broken hill after the rain, NSW. Pastel


Gradation of Color and Tone

Indicating the gradations in color and tone by
delicately painting small subtle steps of clean color
adjacent to each other is the key to achieving beauty
in your work. Gradation is to color what curvature is
to line. Compare a flat pink blob painted on a surface
with the petal of a pink rose. One is monotonous, the
other is beautifully poetic. It’s the subtle but lovely
gradient of color change in the petal that appeals to
our sensibility.
This gradient of color and tone occurs in every
rounded form in the landscape. The more this is
demonstrated in your work the better the painting.

It is a common mistake to focus on a light passage for
to long trying to make it brighter. The more you look
at it in nature the lighter it seems to get. The usual
solution is to make it it “ pop” by putting more darks
or complementary colors around it .
.

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Foreshore Rye, Vic. Pastel



Transitions between colors .

The rainbow demonstrates the most beautiful
transition of color possible. Where color changes
within a form it is best to indicate the transition by
employing the same steps as in the rainbow. These
may be so small as to be almost imperceptible but you
will find including them will add an uplifting quality
to your painting. Small steps in tonal intervals help
create beautiful smooth cord changes in music. It is
the same in painting. If you making a transition in a
form from red to blue achieve it via mauve even if the
amount is barely detectable. This does not apply to
the edge between shapes . Brown will easily
transition to warmer colors of yellow and red. Purple,

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browns complimentary, will pleasantly transition to
blue and green. This is a only a guide as t here are no
hard and fast rules in painting .

Chapter 2 Demonstrations.






Although a general plan of implementation is
desirable it is to be flexible as circumstances dictate.

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All of the following examples closely adhere to the
guidelines and suggestions already outlined.

A studies painted in oils. 3

I began the study above by first preparing my pallet.

Three primary colors were chosen and then added
one or two other colors sympathetic to the subject.
Employing two pallet knives a scoop of paint was
taken from each pool. They were mixed and a small
amount placed on the pallet as a reference . This was
repeated with different concentrations of paint set
out in order light to dark cool to warm for each basic
color until I had achieved some 25 or so or so related

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colors. In a few minutes I had produced a versatile
pallet suitable for further matching .

In this study it was the beauty of the distant hills that
caught my eye. I gave this priority in my race against
time .

Having chosen the subject and decided on the design I
made a start by mapping out as a simple drawing the
position of the various shapes on the canvas. This was
done using a thin layer of paint of dark color mixed
only with turpentine. Oil was avoided at this stage as
it causes the paint to stick to the surface and reduces
the ability to manipulate the drawing.

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The next step was to block in shapes bearing in mind
all the considerations of atmospheric perspective
detailed in the first chapter. Care was given to the
darks which form the framework of the painting. I
connected them as much as possible to reduce the
number of dark shapes which has the effect of
framing the light passages.
Once the main masses were in place lighter tones
employing thicker paint were added over the top,
(“fat over lean”) all the time drawing with the brush
and mostly pulling the light tones into the dark at the
edges to minimize contamination. The painting was
gradually refined until I felt further fiddling would
destroy it. I try avoid using small brushed for details
and highlights until the end in most cases.
Many is the time I have changed the painting as the
light moved. This is a path to destroying the freshness
and original intent of the work.

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I usually paint most of the painting with a size 8 flat
brush avoiding the use of a small brush until the end
of the process. Good brush work is important. The
application of confident strokes of mixed color
avoiding smudging. Some edges need to be
overlapped gently but if overdone it invariably leads
to contamination leaving a dirty messy painting and
betrays uncertainty in the mind of the painter.

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I made some minor adjustments after the painting
had dried back in the studio. I applied a glaze of thin
cool transparent color mixed with medium to unify
the distant hills and a second glaze of transparent
warm color to help bring the foreground closer.
I have no issues with altering a Plein Air work if it
needs improvement. I am careful to try and retain the
original concept and strive not to loose its freshness
and spontaneity. Any change therefore is usually
minimal.

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2 Plein Air studies with pastel 3



3 plein air studies with watercolour 3

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CHAPTER 3

My paintings as examples say 50

25 pastels
25 oils . and watercolors

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Conclusion


Little is achieved without application and practice.
The only way to become proficient is to paint and
continue to paint despite set backs and disappointing
results. Each painting requires a vast number of
choices. Experience improves the number of good
choices over poor ones just as it does in life. The
greater percentage of good choices we can
incorporate the more successful the painting.
It is useful to step back and turn the painting upside
down or view it laterally inverted in a mirror to
obtain a fresh look at it while you are working on it .
This allows reassessment of the work and bad choices
tend to reveal themselves. Viewing the work afresh at
a later date in the studio is equally helpful. It is also a
way assessing your progress. If a painting you
thought was good now seems lacking you and can see
a solution you are improving in your choice selection
and progressing on your journey.
It is easy to become seduced into the temptation of
repeatedly painting similar subjects in a similar
slightly modified way if you feel a painting has been
successful. This is particularly the case if the painting
is sold. Economic considerations may have to be
taken into account but this aside. it is essentially a
flight to safety which may stifle your progress.

I cannot think of a better motivation for embracing
this activity than that you enjoy its challenge and it

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makes you feel happy and sometimes fulfilled. We all
wish to improve and be the best we can be. The Plein
Air painting journey affords a wonderful opportunity
to learn to see the world with a heightened
perception. We do not need to refer to the great
master painters of the past or indeed those with us
today to provide a standard to which we should all
aspire. The standard is right before us but always out
of reach to everyone….Nature.

If in some small degree we can enable the spectator to
feel what it would be like to be at the scene we have
attempted to capture we are on our way.

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Examples of my Plein air paintings

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