Plein Air Painting

Plein air painting has always been one of my passions.

But what is Plein air Painting?

“En plein air” is the French expression for “in the open air”.

In the strictest sense, it is the practice of painting landscapes outdoors; more loosely, it is the achievement of capturing the essence of the open air in a landscape painting.

Plein air paintings should not be confused with mere sketches or studies created outside. They are artworks that are painted outside, from start to finish.

Painting en plein air offers much more than just a change of scenery. As well as the environmental challenges, the style brings the artist closer to the subject removing the visual limitations experienced when painting in a studio.

The Plein air painting movement largely began in France in the 1830s in response to the idealised depictions of Italian landscapes. For context, 19th-century Italy was the place to be. Rivalling Paris, Rome had been the centre of the art world since the Renaissance. Artists from across Europe, including the French, studied in Rome and consequently brought the Italian approach to painting back home.

My experience

Inspired by the large landscapes my grandfather painted on canvas, I sought out vibrant colours and distinctive views in the Ain countryside, where I lived from 2020 to 2022.

Being surrounded by the dazzling yellow of the sunflowers and the vast rapeseed fields was undoubtedly the source of my inspiration

However, my en plein air experience remained influenced by the charcoal technique, which cancels out the colours in favour of more or less intense pencil strokes. I initially approached drawing using this technique.

The colours were the one thing that struck me the most, but ultimately they did not inspire me as much as I expected. Paradoxically, the colours that struck me the most inspired me the least. I found the most inspiration in the ochre-tinged shades of sun-scorched earth and patches of vegetation.

For this reason, I preferred to paint the fields in the dry season as well as the wide landscapes of the French countryside and the mountains of the Aosta Valley.