Carrie Curran is a professional artist living in Scottsdale, Arizona. As a teacher, she runs her own art center and demonstrates her techniques at PACE (the annual >>Plein Air Convention & Expo). The next PACE will be May 20-24, 2024, in the Smoky Mountains and the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. 

Carrie is a passionate outdoor painter. Here, in 18 steps, she lays down a solid framework for working en plein air.

Before Painting:

  • Pack sturdy and portable equipment and essential supplies (like water, sunscreen, bug spray. and of course your gear – ed.)
  • Find subjects that genuinely interest you and places you can easily return to for further study
  • Observe the sky and light source, a vital element in all outdoor painting
  • Look for the relationships between value, color, masses, light and shadow patterns
  • Sketch thumbnails to determine best composition

Sketching Your Scene:

  • Draw small frames / format boxes to sketch thumbnails
  • Consider the proportions / format of the canvas you will be using
  • Outline the major shapes, and eliminate detail
  • Draw quickly and make a note about what inspired you
  • Shade in your value masses using a value scale of 3 to 5 values
  • Refer to Edgar Payne’s book, Composition of Outdoor Painting, for ideas and inspiration for successfully designed compositions

Carrie Curran, “Dunes Shoreline”

Steps for Success:

  • Have gear and supplies ready at a moment’s notice
  • Choose a subject using a viewfinder (and your feelings)
  • Squint and observe the scene for value masses, shapes, proportion, perspective, color, light and shadows
  • Quickly draw thumbnail(s); designing a composition with a value structure, designed to keep the viewer’s eye
  • Use your sketch as a guide to draw an outline of the value masses on the canvas and paint the average color and value of those shapes first
  • Use the drawing as a reference while you closely continue to observe your subject
  • When introducing color, use a limited palette and make sure your colors stay consistent with the value plan

Carrie Curran, Saguaro at the McDowells, oil on linen, 16” x 12”

Connect with Carrie Curran at carriecurran.com.

Master painter Lynn Gertenbach, renowned member of the premier group the Plein-Air Painters of America, shares her decades of experience in a video that shows you how to create a complete plein air landscape in just one hour.

For those who love to paint but find their time constrained by your life, job, or family commitments — for those who have to take stolen moments to get outside to paint — this video will be invaluable. Lynn has developed a simple system for developing a painting that not only makes the process easier, it makes your paintings more pleasing due to the methods of composition she’ll show you in The One Hour Plein Air Landscape.

 

Wintry Fence Line Snags Top Spot in Salon

Kathleen Reilly, Fence Line, oil on panel, 20” x 20”

Colorado artist Kathleen Reilly has won first place in the June PleinAir Salon landscape category for her 20” x 20” painting, Fence Line.

Reilly’s artistic practice combines studio painting and plein air excursions into her beloved adopted state of Colorado (Reilly was born in Pennsylvania). 

“I feel as though I am an artistic “recorder” of visual events often gone in a moment and too often forgotten. Interpreting these moments of inspiration has become very important for me,” she says. 

The monthly PleinAir Salon rewards artists with over $33,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work. A winning painting, chosen annually from the monthly winners, is featured on the cover of PleinAir magazine. The deadline is ongoing, so visit PleinAirSalon.com now to learn more.