Going out painting is like what we did as kids, only then we were going out to play games like baseball. With all the games we played we used our minds as well as our bodies. Thinking up fun things to fill our time that usually got us in trouble or imagining ourselves as Micky Mantle, and winning the 7th game of the World Series is how we spent our summers. Now we get in our cars and go out looking for what will win the World Series of masterpieces.
It is a game, first the running of the bases, with “home plate” being the scene for the day. We set up our easels and lay out our design (bases) and then our paints, as we survey the scene for dropping in that “pop fly” (which is important), bring all our teachings to the game and set about capturing what we see and feel. Excitement is our strength. We swing our brushes aiming for the fence with every stroke. The excitement builds as Prussian Blue surrounds white summer clouds for a double, then bunt with sap green, moving our painting forward as we lay out the grassy carpets of tender shoots of tasty morsels for the cows we plan to put in our little masterpieces. Dandelions and other wild flowers add to the scene, and there is the joy of playing the game of plein air painting.
It's the joy of being a kid again that attracts so many to plein air painting. The warm breeze, the shadows from the clouds drifting across the sky. Bright colors are our toys now as we lay out the scene. With each decision our pleasure increases making painting both exciting and relaxing.
