PleinAir Magazine – August 2019

August-September 2019 / http://www.outdoorpainter.com

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BEYOND THE

STUDIO

WALLS

Follow alongasthisaccomplishedartisttakestothewoods,venturesoff the beaten

path,anddiscoversthemeaningofpleinairpainting.

——— BY ERIK KOEPPEL ———

W

hatexactlyis pleinairpainting?I havea Frenchdictionaryandamawarethat

enpleinairmeans“outside.”Sopleinairpaintingmustmeanpaintingoutside.

However,insomediscussionsinrecentyearswithseveralartists(somequite

renowned),I’velearnedthattherearethosewhoconsiderpleinairpaintingto

bea styleof painting,andthatjustbecauseyouarepaintingoutsidedoesn’tnecessarilymean

you’rea pleinairpainter.I findthisperplexing. To clarify my own view of what I consider plein

airpainting,I thought I’d share a story.

THEJOURNEY

Leavingmycarbesidetheroadonedayin theWhiteMountainNationalForest,I enterdirectly

intothewoods,wherethereis notrail.Makingmywayalongdeer,moose,andbearpaths,I

pushthroughthedensewoodsto theEllisRiver.Althoughtheriveris fine,mycuriositydrives

meto explorefurtherupstream.I ampreparedto spendtheday,witha heavy pack, water, lunch,

paint gear, travel guitar, and sketchbook. It is slow going along the river.

Emerald Pool, oil on panel, 12 x 20 in.