This is how nature looks like from my living room, when I’m painting plants from my head…
And this is how nature looks like en plein air, in the wild:
I find the woods very difficult to sketch or paint, because there is so much going on! so please excuse the mediocrity of this sketch…
I have learned something important from this failure though – and that’s why I’m sharing it with you, I wouldn’t clutter your mind with it for no reason… you too might learn something from my mistake :)
It works best to start such project with the background and work your way to the front, which is not what I have done here and it looks like a flat mess…
oh well, understanding often comes from confusion… and I’m a practical/kinaesthetic learner after all :)
Noémie.
I love those little botanical field studies. They have real charm. You’ve hit the nail on the head I think with what makes plein air painting so challenging – too many possibilities and decisions about how to get the eye to focus on specific details. It’s why I’m no good at landscapes or architecture drawing.
And the lights and shadows are very hard to capture… For me anyway :)
Still lovely.
Thank you
I’m total poo at drawing from life, so I’m impressed by anyone who takes a stab at it.
I doubt that you can be bad at anything drawing related, live or not… What you do with pencils is just incredible!
I think it’s because I’m such a slow draw-er that i just don’t have the patience to stay still long enough to make anything that resembles anything when I draw en plein air. At least drawing from photos I can get up and walk away and nothing changes by the time I get back. 😜
This is great advise. I’m so afraid of painting en plein air for similar reasons. This is inspiring.
Thank you very much :)
I’m impressed by anyone who can draw from life! Capturing the essence of something quickly with a few lines or brushstrokes is so tricky. I really like your detailed plant paintings too 😀
Thank you :)