Outdoor painting at Magnolia Avenue, Saint Augustine
This is a little ditty about painting outdoors. For years I found this aspect of producing artwork to be the most intimidating. As a hint, I find that I get out and do more with a circle of art friends than I would ever do alone. There is safety and courage in numbers, small numbers. We call ourselves a pack…like painterly wolves. It’s like parallel play as we each set up our own little work space and do our individual little mojo driven magic of inspiration. It’s not formal. That is what I want to share. Painting outdoors is easy if you know what stops you from doing it. Intimidated? Coordinate an outdoor session with some non-critical and friendly artists. Practice does makes better (uhm– I gave up on perfect a long time ago)…no matter what you do. Keep it simple. I use a pickle jar with a lid to clean brushes and a water bottle for refilling and rinsing. The biggest challenge is not rinsing my brushes in my coffee cup. It doesn’t look anything like my pickle jar, but I have been known to stick a brush in my coffee. Another advantage to painting outside with friends is if you forget whatever you were going to paint on, or forget brushes or paints then there are supplies to borrow. I have forgotten all of those things and never wanted for anything as they appeared in front of me through my friend the painter. I mix on a Styrofoam plate and mist the acrylics with water. Just go do it. Start with pencils if that’s easier. Remember that you can edit the view with artistic license. If you don’t want to paint part of the view, you don’t have to. When is the last time you had that kind of power of choice?