California Scenes

Landscape Paintings & Florals

Plein-air painting is steeped in the tradition of Monet and the French Impressionists and, within American Impressionism, the California Impressionists, who were influenced also by the more tonalist tradition of the Barbizon school. Plein-air painting exemplifies the search for truth in representational art, working through direct observation of nature, to capture the fleeting moment in time posed by sun and shadow, and which is subject always to the artist's essential task of interpretation.

9"x12" Girl Painting, Carmel Coast

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Plein-Air Oils: California Landscapes

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Why Plein-Air Painting?

From the French, "plein-air"—literally: "full-air" (think: "plenty" air)—refers to painting outdoors, on location. More than a style of painting, "plein-air" conjures up a scenario of full immersion in the wilds of the great outdoors, making art that represents and honors the wonders of nature and man, against all odds of wind, weather, and challenging terrain. There is at once a naivete of approach and a sophistication of technique in the best plein-air work.

Great masters of the past, like California's Yosemite painters William Keith, Thomas Cole, and Albert Bierstadt, made preliminary sketches in oil and watercolor directly from nature as studies for their larger studio works. But with the Impressionists, this pursuit of the truth became exalted as an artform unto itself. Monet and the French Impressionists were famous investigators of momentary light and color effects. They used lighter, broken colors within close values to shimmering effect, along with a looser rendering style, subordinating structure and detail in favor of delicious color.