Meet "Plein Air" 

Plein air is French term meaning outdoors, in the open air. Painting plein air is essentially about observing and painting subjects from life outdoors. This practice increased in popularity in the nineteenth century after the invention of tubes for oil paint. It’s a familiar concept today, but in the late 1800s when the Impressionists ventured out of their studios into nature to investigate and capture the effects of sunlight and different times of days on a subject, it was quite revolutionary.

Plein air painters can paint in any media and usually paint landscapes. Some painters who paint in plein air will always finish what they start outdoors; while others (such as Monet in later years) are content to start a painting in plein air, make a record of the light and colour and bring it back to the studio for completion. Sometimes taken to extremes e.g. by Stanhope Forbes of whom there exists a photograph of him painting on a beach in high wind with canvas and easel secured by guy ropes.

Plein air painting has become a popular activity for many artists in the mild climates of Oregon, California, and parts of Nevada. The landscapes here are varied and colorful for most of the year.