Painting En Plein Air - Outdoor Painting Locally

As this cold winter drags on, I find myself enjoying the recent rise in temperatures. My mind is envisioning a session to paint outdoors. I know the truly rugged artists like Tim Widener and Heiner Hertling, among others are painting throughout the winter. Not liking the cold, I am finding solace keeping toasty by my fireplace. Humm....maybe I will paint that!

I want to make everyone aware of a group of artists that are meeting every Saturday, all year long (even through this cold cold winter). They are called the Michigan Plein Air Painters. Artists meet at Kensington Metro Park off of I-96 at 8:30 am on Saturdays in the Nature Center Parking Lot. At around 8:15 they depart to a mutually discussed painting place either in the park or at a nearby place that someone has discovered. At times, they will arrange with private residences and businesses to paint at their location. This is a fun group that also gathers at Baker's Restaurant in Milford at the other end of the park to have lunch after the mornings painting session. Artists are working in many mediums - Oil, Watercolor, Pastel, Pencils, Acrylic. Depending on time of year and weather, meetings many times reach over 20 artists. Check out their website - Michigan Plein Air Painters .

Painting en plein air (french for in the open air) has given my work a freshness that working strictly from photos can not achieve. The subtleties of the colors in the shadows and in the distance are often neglected by our cameras. To go out only to achieve a vision of the color nuances can also help with the outcome of your work.

Give it a try. The learning, the fellowship and the tasty lunch at Baker's makes for a fun, relaxing day.