I used to think plein air painting was much less about the artifact and much more about the experience. I used to believe success as a plein air painter isn't found in pursuing a certain aesthetic or mastering a particular technique and never measurable by awards, workshops attended, or advertisements purchased. With the popularity of plein air painting growing in conjunction with the prevalence of juried shows, monetary prizes, publications, and success stories, I used to hope many others would try find the spirit of plein air painting as an end into itself as I thought I had. I used to tell people to go outside, record an experience, and enjoy the adventure. And I used to believe that as soon as the purpose of plein air painting becomes anything other than capturing our world on canvas, it stops being plein air painting.
I've grown up, I guess. Plein air painting isn't about any of that anymore. If we keep at it, we can make sure it was never about anything other than what's printed in Plein Air Magazine. If you have a competitive spirit, a photogenic face, and a deep pocket book, you can be a plein air master. That's great news for all of us! So long as the walls of cultured homes need decoration and aspiring art-lovers need hobbies, the plein air movement has plenty of room for all of us on it's printed page.
So, for all of my painting peers out there, let's stop painting as hobbyists! Put your money where your mouth is! If we enter enough shows, attend enough conventions, and pay for enough advertisements, we can make plein air painting the art movement it deserves to be. With any luck, years after we're gone, they'll hang Plein Air Magazine articles on placards next to our boring landscape paintings in galleries celebrating a painting style that closely replicates what artists wore out hundreds of years before us. Let's create a legacy for God's sake! Put away the french boxes and hit the social media. Take a break from making and focus more on "making it". Buy a subscription and read about what you could be doing.
This article doesn't feature any of my recent awards or accolades, but I hope you can still enjoy it...it's costing me a lot.
https://www.outdoorpainter.com/12000-miles-of-friendship-and-painting/
