Being Outside

Being “outside” is a gift and an opportunity for any artist.

Landscape painting begins for me with getting out in the landscape, the weather, the light, hauling painting gear and just being outside. The days that I am lucky enough to spend outside painting (alone or with other artists) are always inspiring —a true break from studio work and the business of art. They remind me of why I am a painter.

It’s rare that a day trip does not produce something of value —-even if it’s a new friendship. And when it also produces good work you might say that the experience helps in developing the “soul” of the painting . Onsite sketches and small watercolor studies are invaluable when finishing a piece in the studio, as are any notations made. Though photographs are helpful (and I certainly use them back in the studio), I try to rely first on my memory and the experience as the basis of my concept and composition.

There is no doubt that the process of relying on memory and feel exaggerates some things and diminishes others (in the final painting). But then, that is the secret to “being outside” the constraints of conventional work.