Plein air landscape

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

Once I learned that southern Vermont was entering a prolonged heat wave it seemed wise to brush up on my plein air painting skills. Weather.com was reporting a record seven consecutive days of ninety plus degrees of heat with multiple days approaching the century mark. 

This watercolor was painted outside under the shade of a tree in our back yard. Time constraints limited this painting to a little over an hour. Of course, over this hour, the light can change a lot. As a result, I take a photograph, once I have settled on my subject in case I have to finish my piece at home.

I have come to embrace plein air painting even though there are many frustrations along the way. Plein air painting forces me to simplify my compositions and paint directly. By this, I mean, you can not cram every little thing into your picture, nor should you. Additionally, I need to minimize my color mixing and brush strokes. As a result, cleaning up is much easier and my painting approach is freer in nature.