Peter Adams (President of the California Arts Club), Portrait of Robert and Noni Warren's grandchildren on the Tonawanda; Columbia River Gorge, 1998, oil on board, 60x84

During the 1997 ASOPA Festival, a rather casual experience changed my life. Along with many others, I felt a close kinship with Ray Kinstler, the featured artist and recipient of the John Singer Sargent Medal. I listened and watched with great awe and respect as he spoke and demonstrated his talent and skill. During the weekend I had the opportunity to share some special one-on-one time with him. We even ended up at the airport together. I sat across from him as he engaged in a characteristically animated conversation with Richard Whitney. Not wanting to pass up this choice opportunity, I drew a sketch of him. After returning home I cleaned it up and sent it to him. I was deeply grateful when he returned it, signed and with a personal inscription. Included was a letter in which he gave some extremely helpful comments about my work.

After his signature in his letter he wrote, "Loosen up; get outdoors and paint!" Taking that challenge has been a major milestone in my life, professionally and personally.

Dan Goozeé, Early Morning Coffee, Sarah, oil on canvas, 16x20

Portraiture is my second career. I was an architect for 30 years (which I truly enjoyed). Now as a portrait artist, I am doing something I absolutely love and and receiving creative awards that were never equaled previously. But I brought with me the finite and tight discipline that I had practiced for three decades.

Even after a relatively short time, the outdoor experience began to have an important and rewarding influence on me. Because "loosening up" is just one great benefit of Plein Air painting, I really feel many other portrait artists can also greatly gain from Mr. Kinstler's advice.
It is amazing how painting landscapes and still-lifes has so many parallels to painting the human face and form. In fact, the self-talk is the same. "How and where do I start; what is the basic composition; as I squint, what are the major basic shapes; of what I see, what is essential; what are the relative values; what are the important color notes; what do I want to say; how can I paint what I see and feel?"

Too many artists have found the comfortable and damaging crutch called the camera. Photography now consumes our society, but in the big picture it's relatively new. For centuries past, by necessity, artists learned their trade by painting directly from the subject. Even with photography available, the names of real subject painters are endless: Sargent, Whistler, Beirstadt, Moran Stobart, Schmid, Kinstler and Silverman. Many members of the ASOPA Board of Directors are active, outdoor painters. Painting from life will show in any artist's work with a freshness, capability, confidence and honesty of approach.

Michael Del Priore, Chairman of ASOPA, said at the 1996 Portrait Arts Festival, "As in many things, mediocrity has washed down and chiseled away and compromised our value and virtue, to the point of inferiority. In years past, time was of learning, searching, finding, pondering and inventing. Now we find ourselves the easy way out. . .camera and projector!"

When you rely on photography, especially if you are using basic equipment, you run the risk of possible object distortion and flattening of the subject. One of the worst shortcomings of this medium is its inability to render accurate color and values. Most films have a limited "latitude," this being the ability to see detail in the highlights and shadows of the same exposure. The result is washed-out highlights and/or blocked-in darks. The color you see on most print film is a function of the processor's whim. (Generally, slide film does a far better job, especially with color rendition but that's a whole different article.)

It's fair to acknowledge that many of the greats of the past used photosÑDegas (Dancers) and Sargent (Paul Helleau Sketching with his Wife) as examples. But they were used as backup reference and only in conjunction with and after much live painting.

To begin with, it's important to know just what painting outdoors is and what you should expect from it.

European artists created a complete vocabulary for it. The French call it Plein Air which by definition means "painting in the air" or "painting outdoors." It becomes a reality of Mr. Kinstler's repeated advice you've all heard, "Paint live; paint live!"

Ron Hales, Kathy Kirk at the Lazy Beagle Ranch, oil on panel 16x20

Pochade is a "hasty sketch" or a "sketch made with quick strokes." A Pochade Box refers to a paint case that has slots in the lid to hold painting panels, a palette, and compartments for paints, brushes, etc. The Italians refer to "painting all in one setting, often with thickly applied impasto" as Allea Priema.

John Stabart, the outstanding marine artist, has had a 13-segment painting program on PBS, where each week he would set up somewhere in the world and paint. He has been painting Plein Air his whole career, especially in preparation for a major commission. During one show he said, "This [painting outdoors] gives you a vibrancy, a sense of being alive. It's so much different than cooping yourself up in a [little place] trying to do something from reference material. This is where it's all happening. It's so real and invigorating and fantastic."

During a show Stobart visited with Joe Bowler. Both artists have studios on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. As they talked it was said, "The artist that comes out and paints from nature. . .there are so many things happening. There's a part of your mind (affected) even though you're not conscious of it (as) all this stuff is going in your mind, and you're growing in your experience and the next time you're doing it, this experience will be there on the shelf. And it all happens without you really knowing it. But it does happen and you'll notice improvement in your work. That's what the whole point of all of this is."

Sargent's command of brush strokes has been attributed to his Plein Air experience. Charles Movalli noted, "One secret of Sargent, he didn't Ôniggle;' if it was wrong, he scraped it off and started again! The effect of the minute must be caught in the middle. It was a sign of Sargent's search for the brush strokes that gave the most expression with the least waste of energy."
John Howard Sanden said once, "Remember, a bold failure is better than a niggling success. Take risks, it's the only way to achieve the big success."

Kevin McPherson, contemporary master of the Plein Air painting and president of the Plein Air Painters of America, expressed it this way, "There is a difference between looseness and sloppiness. Looseness is a matter of finding a shorthand way of painting things." It's a matter of control and discipline found with experience.

Of course to be able to use the right stroke you have to be able to see what you're painting! Paul Strisik, a great teacher of Plein Air painting, wrote, "I believe in a cause and effect. If you understood the reason for a visual effect you'll be able to paint it. We should be Ôresearchers' rather than practitionersÑthat is, we should discover the why and wherefore of things and not simply practice formulas given to us by our teachers." That is what happens when you paint live, either the human face and form, nature or still life, both outdoors and live setups indoors.
For those who have not ventured into this world, it may be a bit intimidating. As I began painting on my own from nature, there was a lot of joy along with a lot of intense frustration.

As you experience frustration, which can often be another name for artist, it's important to keep in mind that by definition Pochade is a "hasty sketch." Don't expect to have a finished painting ready to frame and send to a gallery. Quite often the value of your painting will be what you get from the experience and not necessarily how the final product may look.

You may spend 20 minutes on a quickly changing light condition, an hour or two for a basic scene, or an afternoon on a developed painting. Size and completeness or detail are two factors determining how much time is spent on a work.

Keep in mind that much can be done on a 6-by-8 to 12-by-16 board. All elements of a good painting, such as composition, values, color and details can be addressed very effectively and quickly. In fact, just beginning a lot of sketches can often be more valuable to your development than finishing just a few. At the beginning, you're looking at everything with half closed-eyes. Squinting, look for the important flat shapes, basic color and composition. (Squinting is so very critical in making sure you reduce all detail to simple major shapes. I've seen some artists with a sign with SQUINT written in large letters attached to their easels as a constant reminder.)
All types of small sketches become extremely competent references for larger and more complete studio pieces. In fact, because of the intensity and accuracy of your involvement in the field, they can often exceed their value to you over your photographic references.

In the studio with photos and away from the reality of your subject, you can tend to be intellectual and analytical.

On the other hand as Rodin said, "Sketches permit the artist to seize the fleeting beauty of a gesture whose figurative truth would escape deeper and long study." As you paint in the field, you can accurately see real values, warm or cool color notes. You can hear the water, birds, traffic. You can feel the atmosphere, the heat or cold, the wind. You are in touch with your subject by being a part of it. And that is what you're painting.

Where to Learn
Just gather your equipment and paint by yourself or with a fellow painter. If there are art guilds or clubs nearby, join. Look for workshops; they often are a good beginning to help you see the myriad of painting techniques and equipment, not to mention encouragement.
During August of this past year, I spent a week at a workshop presented through the Scottsdale Art School, with the Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA). It was an eye-opening experience for many different reasons. It was held high in the Rocky Mountains near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, right on the Continental Divide. From the list of 21 instructors, you could choose either half-day or whole-day workshops. Most classes began with an instructor's demo, then a lot of personal critiques as the class painted. During the morning session, all 21 featured artists of the PAPA painted in a scenario similar to the ASOPA portrait demos. In the afternoon, students painted. The instructors would come around to your location and give guidance. In the evenings there were lectures, slide shows and an award barbecue. It was a very rewarding experience.
If you become involved with those who teach, learn to look past their individual styles and learn from what they say. Too often instructors are chosen because the artist wants to paint like them. Copying masters has always been an important learning process, but cloning does not let you become who you are. I don't always prefer the style of some instructors, but they never fail to give me principles to follow for my work.

The more you paint, you'll realize you don't need exotic places to set up. Regardless of whether you live in the mountains, prairie, seascape or desert, or in a city with parks, gardens, harbors or streetscapes, you can paint. Tony Bennett carries his paints with him during his concert tours, and often finds subjects just outside his hotel window. The critical point is to paint what excites and interests you.

I also attended a "paintout" in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this past fall, as part of a week-long city wide art festival. These are usually timed events where a signal is given and artists begin to paint for a prescribed time limit. Then the still-wet canvases are auctioned off to support a particular cause or organization. This paintout was located on a ranch high on a hillside. Some artists chose vistas such as the wonderful Teton Mountains, sweeping valleys or animals in the corrals. One artist chose a simple thistle bush with full purple blossoms and dusty green leaves growing in yellow brown grasses. At the end of the allotted 60 minutes, he had produced a remarkable 9-by-12 painting that was just a knockout!

Paul Strisik said, "Too many paintings are excuses for covering canvas! If you're not excited about the subject, the viewer won't be either."

Equipment
Keep it simple. A couple of local artists with handheld watercolor kits produce remarkable 3-by-5, 4-by-6 and 5-by-7 landscapes, very competently (and quickly), addressing the major problems such as value, color and composition.

Level One: Pochade Box with one to three panels in the lid, and a palette in the lower section. Size is usually 6-by-8 up to 9-by-12. They can be held on the lap, car dashboard or garden wall. Some are adapted to receive a camera tripod screw (1/4-inch by 20 thread). Some of the older classic ones have a thumb hole in the bottom.

Level Two: Sketch Box, same mounting as above but generally larger, 9-by-12 up to 16-by-20. Some hold the painting panel inside the top or have an adjustable clamp on the outside of the top. For a woodworker, these are simple to make.

Level Three: French or Russian Easel, the tried, true and versatile canvas/panel holder. The price of these units has come way down in the past years, some just over $100. And of course, they can be important in the studio or traveling to a client.

Level Four: I've seen some artists create paintings up to 4 by 5 feet but they have a lot of ambition, confidence. . .and field equipment. My son, a cabinetmaker, and I have developed a box that combines the size and simplicity of a paint box with the versatility of a French Easel, holding from a 4-inch to a 20-inch canvas.

Painting Surfaces: The regular canvas on stretchers works with the French Easel. For the paint boxes, canvas glued to panels, or panels coated with gesso, are quite effective. If you're in the field for an extended time, be prepared to handle wet paintings with a box with grooves on the side and lid to hold a quantity of specific size panels, or pack them in stacks with small spacers at each corner and wrapped or taped together.

Paint: Again, keep it simple! By observation and practice, John Stobart has mastered color mixing. Using the same basic five colors both in the studio and outdoors, he produces paintings that are beautifully harmonious; and he represents any color he sees. (cad. Yellow, Windsor Red, permanent green, French ultramarine, and burnt sienna plus Titanium white). MacPherson challenges students to try black, yellow ochre, cad. Red light, Titanium white.) (b+w=blue, b+y=green, etc.)

For some of you, this will be a new experience. For others it could be an encouragement to get out and smell the flowers again. Either way, I can assure that if you will combine and treat these two painting scenarios (painting portrait and landscape sketches) as the same in concept, you'll be amazed how much one will support and expand your abilities in the other. Ray Kinstler changed my life; hopefully, accepting the same challenge will change and enrich yours.
Because there are many outstanding resources available in book and magazine stores, videos and various websites, the intent of this article is not "how to" but rather "why." As a start however, here are some references I've found to be a help and will give you a good beginning.

Books
Fill Your Paintings with Light and Color, By Kevin D. McPherson, North Light Books. Well organized and instructive book covering the basics, dealing with: equipment, seeing colors accurately, mixing colors, understanding light and shade, building from mosaic simple interlocking shapes, use of small formats, the importance of good starts, etc. Kevin is a full-time Plein Air artist and a great teacher.

Capturing Light in Oils, by Paul Strisik, North Light Books. Emphasis on not just painting but being personally involved and having an emotional intensity for what you're painting. Three main areas he addresses are: DESIGN, using just the elements that contribute to your personal statement; COLOR, understanding and seeing color and value basics, unifying the entire landscape; LIGHT, types and how to use each. Emphasis on understanding different times of the day and how to use and capture weather conditions. Many superb examples.

The Pleasure of Painting Outdoors, by John Stobart, North Light Books. Created as a companion to the PBS "Worldscape" painting series. Very well written, drawing from classic training and years in the field. After clearly explaining equipment and materials he continually encourages the artist to stretch, " go out, set up, and pretend to be the master you are not," (yet). There are 13 chapters covering paintings in each of the world sites from the PBS series, plus insights and ideas.

Magazine Articles
Check back issues of magazine, especially The Artists Magazine and American Artist plus regional and local magazines.
"Interpretations of the Colorado Landscape," 13 artists painting, American Artist, January 1997, pp. 33-48
"Cowboy Artists Paint Plein Air," Southwest Art, October 1998, pp. 75-81
"Build a Pochade Box," The Artists Magazine, October 1993, pp. 2A-5A
February issue of Southwest Art, devoted to Plein Air painting featuring Kevin McPherson and four other outstanding artists.


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Ron Hales, a retired architect from Ogden, Utah, has been painting portraits (his real career) for six years. He owes much of his self-taught growth to his membership in ASOPA and has earned the recognition of Signature Member.