Scouting the Perfect Location for Plein Air Painting

I was watching a YouTube video of a fairly well-known painter not that long ago and he mentioned "The Moses Syndrome." For those unfamiliar with Moses' reputation, he wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before arriving at the Promised Land. It's easy to pack your equipment and painting box in the car, knowing you have an hour or two before the golden hours of evening, grab a snack and some water, and head out in a general direction you think might work. It's also easy to pass a beautiful scene with reasonable subject matter and keep driving, believing that you'll find something with better lighting, a structure or scene you like more, something without water so you don't have to paint it, something with less traffic or a more comfortable place to stand, something where you can park and work out of the back of your hatchback.

All of these reasons to keep driving are great, but at a certain point, you'll feel much more satisfied if you pull over, get out your paints and give the sketch a chance. The endorphins from painting are much more satisfying than driving home empty handed, or getting started so late you only have 30 minutes of light left.

Today I had an ideal scouting adventure. There was a spot I had seen over and over when driving to and from a regular appointment of mine. I didn't know what it was called, but I knew I wanted to go there. I picked out a landmark I recognized, and opened Google Maps this afternoon. I located the landmark on Google Maps, and then panned around in Street View to see the area and make sure I was on the right track.

Tonight, when painting time came, I put the landmark into my phone's Google Maps, set my course and drove right there. I still drove around for about 20 minutes looking for my favorite spot to stand and feel like I wasn't in the way of people driving, but it was a good example of a successful scouting adventure. I also found a scene to paint that was capturing the evening light just right, and enjoyed my perfect evening covered in ultramarine blue and feeling a breeze at my back.

Winter Plein Air

Hey there! Today we went on a nice adventure so I could get out and do some plein air (painting outdoors). We drove up a canyon near our neighborhood, grabbed the gear, and I picked a spot to paint. We had an appointment at 6pm we didn't want to be late for, so I set a timer and painted an 8x10 panel in less than 1.5 hours! (That's a record for me). It's not my very favorite plein air, my fingers were cold, I had some new gear to try, and I was standing on a bed of squishy, wet snow in dim winter light. The warm yellow glow right over the Oquirrh Mountains was reflecting off the reservoir, and that was my inspiration. Loved getting out to get some chill on my cheeks!

This was also a return to the first place I painted plein air, and this one was much more relaxed, and turned out much better than the first scary attempt.