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The Fall season gives us plenty of reasons to be outside. With the cooler weather and the turning of the leaves, this is a great time for plein air painting. The French term plein air literally means “in open air”. Painting in the open air has been enjoyed for centuries. Artists like Monet and Van Gogh are well known for their landscapes painted on sight. Painting on location is quite different than painting in the studio. You will have to carry everything you would normally have at home along with you. This may include an easel, painting supplies, a stool, and sometimes an umbrella. You will want these things to be as compact and light weight as possible. You will also need to be concerned with your well being as well. You might want to pack sunscreen, a hat, comfortable shoes, water, and even something to snack on. Just think of it as a painting picnic!

This may seem like a lot of stuff to carry, especially if you are painting at a remote area requiring you to walk or hike to the location. However, a well designed travel easel can help to keep things organized. Now, I have tried many types of plein air easels. They come in several sizes and styles to fit the needs of any artist no matter what medium you use.

The original French easel is a very compact design that enables you to carry your materials right inside the box. This easel was designed by Roger Julian in 1945. It has a sketch box design with ample storage and three legs that fold out and extend to accommodate an artist who is standing or sitting. It is of wood construction and very durable. This is probably the most popular design for a plein air easel. There are other easels that are similar, like Cheap Joe's American Journey Field Series Sketchbox Easels. This easel has a painted metal drawer insert as well as a shoulder strap and magnetic legs snaps. These are just a few improvements from Julian's original design. The French easel comes in a full-box and also a smaller version, the half-box. This easel design can weigh from 9-13 lbs on average. It will be a little heavier when storing your supplies inside.

There are other compact plein air easels that do not have the extra storage and are much lighter weight. They are usually made from aluminum and can be easily stashed in a trunk for spontaneous use! Some of them come with their own carrying case making it easy to carry. These are very simply designed giving you basically, a canvas support mast and legs. That's pretty much it! But that's really all you need.
↵Now while design is important, stability is more important. Most of the field easels are tripods or have three legs. This can be a disadvantage if you are painting on unstable ground or in windy conditions, as the easel could easily tip over.

Recently, I was asked to test drive a brand new field easel design. This was an exciting offer and i was ready to put it to the test! The Joe Miller Signature Field Easel was designed by Cheap Joe himself. Being a watercolorist, Joe just got too frustrated with the old problems of standard field easel designs. Some were too big, some were too small, some were not stable enough, and some didn't have enough working space! Joe designed this easel with the watercolorist in mind, however, it is great for any medium. There are four legs, not three, giving you great stability no matter where you set it up. I took mine to the beach and unfortunately this late in the year the winds can be a little unpredictable. The legs are made of light weight aluminum with locking snaps that easily allows you to adjust the height of the easel. They also fold up nicely right up against the box to make it more compact. The easel is of a landscape orientation, as it is wider from side to side than from front to back. This is fairly unique, as many box easel designs are just the opposite. The field easel measures 17" x 12.5" x 7.25" and weighs in at about 10 lbs. empty. The canvas holder has two adjustable masts, to give you a canvas height of between 10 in. and 26 in. There are three working shelves, a left, a right, and one right down in front, with plenty of room for all your painting stuff. The easel is made from Beech wood and is available in two finishes, Cherry and Black. There was only one issue that I considered unfavorable. There is very little storage space on board. The box itself is only about 1 inch deep because of the shelves. There is enough space for paint tubes, brushes and other small items. This, however, did not outweigh all of the great advantages of this very remarkable field easel. Besides, most of us carry a small tote with all our stuff in it anyway! All in all, I give Joe's new easel two thumbs up!

What ever type of plein air easel you choose, the main thing is that you get out there. The early morning and the late evening are the best times for painting. This is when the light is the most dramatic. The light is very direct and strong, casting wonderful highlights and shadows. Making value sketches will be very important when designing your views. It is best to take time to walk around your subject at different angles and sketch several compositions. This is useful when deciding what your painting will look like. The light changes very rapidly and you will lose your initial design very quickly. You will want to quickly record as much of the scene as you can. The preliminary sketches will also be very instrumental as your scene changes. You may want to take a snapshot with your digital camera for reference as well. The painting is your interpretation of what you see. There is no right and wrong way. Having your easel and painting supplies set up in advance will make it easier to begin painting as soon as the design is complete.

Plein air painting is very different than painting from a photograph. The colors and depth of space is understated in a picture. Painting what we truly see and not what we think we see is what gives our painting life. Monet said, "When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever... merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own naive impression of the scene before you." This is a great lesson as a landscape can be very overwhelming with a lot of details. This concept helps you to simplify the scene until you have only what you need to convey your idea to the viewer.

Painting outside should be a personal experience of which you will grow from inside. The viewer of your art will be able to see you within your painting. Approach anything with passion and direction and you will be seen as well. Happy Plein Air Painting!