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Embracing the Gray: The Unexpected Delight of Plein Air Painting on Cloudy Days
Many artists dream of painting under perfect blue skies, with sunlight casting dynamic shadows across vibrant landscapes. However, the allure of a sunny day can often be misleading, as the shifting light poses a significant challenge, demanding rapid strokes and quick decisions. But what about those gray, overcast days? There’s magic to be found in…
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Plein Air Plan | 5 tips for better outdoor painting
I was going through an old sketchbook and found the notes from a fantastic plein air painting workshop through The Atelier in Minneapolis. The workshop was taught by plein air artist, Brian Stewart. In gearing myself up mentally for that workshop, I had set an intention to use this opportunity to learn as much as…
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Embracing the Gray: The Unexpected Delight of Plein Air Painting on Cloudy Days
Many artists dream of painting under perfect blue skies, with sunlight casting dynamic shadows across vibrant landscapes. However, the allure of a sunny day can often be misleading, as the shifting light poses a significant challenge, demanding rapid strokes and quick decisions. But what about those gray, overcast days? There’s magic to be found in…
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Plein Air Painting in the Park
We have finally had some sun here in Minnesota! Spring is slowly starting to reveal itself. Not weeks of sunny days mind you, and very few May flowers, but the change is underway. Let the fair-weather plein air painting season begin I lucked out with a day off during the week. I couldn’t wait another…
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Autumn in Minnesota | Plein air painting in the Apple Orchard
I got a message from my painter friend Elaine on Facebook. She was inviting me to tag along on a plein air painting excursion to the Minnetonka Apple Orchard just west of Minneapolis. In Minnesota, we love fall, and we love apples. And I thought, “What could be more autumn-ish than a trip to an…
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Late Fall Marsh | plein air painting on the edge of a wetland and the edge of a season
When I was a little kid, and I’d get out my Crayolas to draw some trees, I kept things simple. A straight, brown column for a trunk and a tuft of green for the leaves. Maybe a cloud or a rainbow was added to ensure that I had used every color in the box,…
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First Touches of Fall | Plein air painting at the Minnesota River Valley
One of the great aspects of living in Minnesota is the drama of all four seasons. It seems like seasons happen all at once here. It’s suddenly spring, or it’s suddenly winter. But in reality, when you finally take a moment to stop and look around, change happens very gradually, over a period of time. We…
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Mississippi River Reflection | plein air painting on the colorful side of the river
I have been doing a lot of painting set up on the banks of rivers in the last few months. I have noticed in my own paintings that some days the colors reflected in the water are quite intense. More saturated. Other days, the reflections are a bit more washed out. Still beautiful. Still a…
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Mississippi River Rocks in Full Sun | plein air painting to last the whole winter
You know how you sometimes stop and think to yourself, “I’m going to have to remember this feeling?” I had one of those moments while I was out painting last Sunday. I was down on the Saint Paul bank of the Mississippi River with my mother for another plein air painting outing. The sky was…
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Sunflowers in the Garden | plein air painting in the University’s garden
My Mother and I took another painting trip back to our new favorite spot, the University of Minnesota Display and Trial Gardens. I drive by the gardens on my way home from work some days, and I noticed that the sunflowers were in bloom. Now, if you take a look through my blog and my portfolio of…
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Mississippi River Reflections | plein air painting on the St. Paul shore
This painting was done on a beautiful, still morning along the St. Paul side of the Mississippi River. I didn’t know it when I set up, but it turns out that there is an off-leash dog park on the other side of the river. I was serenaded all morning long by dogs barking and their…
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St. Croix River | outdoor painting just like the picture in the catalog.
When I was a kid, maybe around 15 years old (Maybe not a little kid mind you, but certainly younger than I am now…), I received a catalog of plein air painting gear. One of the pictures in that catalog was of an outdoor painter set up with his gear from the catalog. He was way out, on…
