Plein Air Premiere!

Been procrastinating as usual, putting off that moment when it's time to pack your pastels, easel, kit and caboodle and head out for  that pastel premiere. I don't know why, but it is always nerve wracking! 

Plein air problems are multiple, firstly, this is the finished piece, it highlights one of the main problems....... light! 

Plein air you will be dealing with changing light, shadows and clouds, I took the easy option today and went for a day with a clear sky, when getting back  into the plein air saddle it's better to ease yourself in gently and not got full Turner or Constable with moody atmospheric skies. Be aware that light will play havoc with your values, so start with dramatic darks and pales, otherwise you will end up with a mid value mud! My photo is taken in brilliant sun, which makes the finished painting look washed out too! 

The Essence of Summer

I like to position myself in the shade looking out at my subject, which is similar to using a parasol on your easel, so lets's take a look at that. This photo illustrates the difficulties of this too. Your eyes are staring into direct sunshine, which leaches details and colours out of your subject also making it tricky to set your lights and darks. When looking at the different stages of your painting, my tip is to pop it off the easel and take a peek at it both in sunlight and shade and when painting keep squinting through half-closed eyes, this helps you to see those light and dark areas of your subject. 

Epic equipment fails are also par for the course, this one happens to me at the start of every plein air season ...... this year is no exception, 

priding myself this year on taking lots of the little ''shards'' of pastel, thus not carting tonnes of sticks but enabling a good variety, I realised that when your box falls off the easel those same shards are tricky to find in grass! 

Still, my advice is to check out your motif in advance, putting thought into your palette, taking hundreds of tubes/pastels is a pain resulting in dithering due to too much choice. I often go sketching in advance (sketching plain air never daunts me) today however I decided to do a quick thumbnail sketch before hitting the pastels, this helped me considerably. When getting started I tend to rush because I'm nervous, the thumbnail slowed me down and made me aware of some of the problems that I would have to face (there are always problem areas in paintings, but the thumbnail gears up your brain) so I'd definitely do that again. As for the fallen pastels, I don't really like standing holding the box, but I'm wondering about either using an elastic band to attach them to the prongs of my easel or to my hand! 

As I go by bike I have pared down my kit really to this, 

A small, square cosmetic bag with net pockets is something new for me, I always used plastic bags, but I felt it made me look like a bag lady, I also felt my keys and mobile could fall out easily, and trying to keep everything together (when you are as chaotic an artist as I am) is a pain. My fixative, sketchbook, box of pastels, wet towel to wipe my hands (for plein air pastel absolutely essential), pastel pencils, keys and mobile fitted in perfectly and I was able to see where everything was through the net. Definitely an improvement on the poly bag!

Even though I did consciously chose a clear sky, that doesn't mean a sky has to be boring, I let my yellow support peep through and used at least 6 different blues and turquoises. 

Phew, done, sorted! Massive feelings of relief , the first plein air pastel of the season needs to be a success to set you up and give you that feeling of Laisser-faire, that's why starting out with a simpler sky or motif is a great way to warm yourself up ........ then go full Constable's Hay Wain if you feel up to it!