Discover the Joy of Outdoor Painting

We believe we can teach anyone to paint, even people who think they have no talent. Whether you’ve never put brush to canvas or you’ve already created a few masterpieces, there’s something here for you!

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WHAT IS PLEIN AIR?

The term “plein air” was used to describe Claude Monet and the Impressionists in France. In French it means “open air” or “outside,” but since Monet’s time the term has been used to describe people who take their easels outdoors to paint. Plein Air painting is for people who love to be outdoors in nature, people who love to paint landscapes (as well as other outdoor subjects like buildings, cities, old barns, farm equipment, statues, flowers, gardens and people). Painting outdoors offers artists the pleasure of being in nature, the ability to “stop and smell the roses” because of the need to concentrate on a single scene until the painting is completed.

OUTSIDE THE LINES

The documentaryOutside the Linespromotes Plein air painting.

THE HISTORY OF PLEIN AIR PAINTING

It is believed that painters have painted in nature since the beginning of painting itself. Though there is no exact documentation, artists have portrayed the landscape for hundreds of years. Clearly, some landscape drawings were turned into paintings, and many believe the artists could not have represented the scenes so accurately without having done some painting on location. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519), and others are thought to have done some painting from the landscape, though that is only a theory.

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