Over the past year, I have begun exploring painting en plein air. Plein-air painting refers to the process of ditching your studio and painting outdoors in nature. This is a method used since the 1800s as it became popularized during the Impressionist movement. Their focus was to capture fleeting moments of light, color, and atmosphere.
Personally, I love to paint with oils, however, there isn’t a super easy way to paint with oils outside unless you invest in a travel easel. Because of this, I have created a small DIY Plein-Air Palette. I now, take this with me whenever I have time to explore the outdoors or simply want to do a study in oil paint. I tend to make mini-studies, but you may choose to work on a bigger paper or canvas. Additionally, this kit could be used for watercolor, gouache, or other paints that would fit.
Materials
The materials necessary for this are an old mint tin, a small bottle of solvent, rags or paper towels, canvas paper (or whatever support you desire), and paint!
Setup
Creating this is a pretty straightforward process. First, I begin by selecting my paints. I often work with titanium white, yellow ochre, lemon yellow, cadmium red, quinacridone magenta, raw umber, and ultramarine blue. I have found that this palette allows me to get a nice range of colors, but you may want to experiment with others. If you choose to use another painting medium that uses pans such as watercolor, you could stick those pans directly into the bottom of the tin. Once the paint has been selected, I line the top edge with these colors allowing the bottom to be left for mixing.
Now, you could choose to use the tin as your palette and work on a larger piece, or you could cut paper to fit the lid of the tin. I cut oil painting paper into 3” x 2” rectangles as this size fits perfectly on the top of the tin. Simply place a piece of tape on the back of the canvas paper and stick it to the inside of the lid.
I make sure to keep my small bottle of solvent nearby along with my rag, Because I am working on such a small scale, it is important to have small brushes to work with. I’ve found the best sizes to work with are anything under a size 2 brush.
With all of this setup, you are now ready to take your DIY Plein-Air Kit outside! Begin exploring and creating your pieces like the artists of Impressionism did.