Plein Air Techniques for Artists: Principles and Methods for Painting in Natural Light

by Aimee Erickson

Take your plein air artwork to the next level through easy-to-understand workshop-style lessons and skill-building exercises.

In Plein Air Techniques for Artists , award-winning artist and respected workshop instructor Aimee Erickson demystifies how to capture a variety of light effects and guides you in strengthening your plein air skills through practice. This accessible book
 
Featuring exceptional still lifes, figures, and landscapes by other noted artists working in a range of mediums, Plein Air Techniques for Artists gives artists at all levels of experience the guidance they need to grow as a plein air artist.
The  For Artists series  expertly guides and instructs artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, How To

176 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2023

Reviews

[Jeannie Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Plein Air Techniques for Artists
Author: Aimee Erickson
Genre: Nonfiction - Art - Painting
Publisher: Rockport Publishers - Copyright 2023
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780760379356
Read: March 20, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advance reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: Take your plein air artwork to the next level through easy-to-understand workshop-style lessons and skill-building exercises.

In Plein Air Techniques for Artists, award-winning artist and respected workshop instructor Aimee Erickson demystifies how to capture a variety of light effects and guides you in strengthening your plein air skills through practice. This accessible book covers:

Materials and gear. Gain a basic knowledge of the possibilities so you can keep your options open and your plein air process fresh.
Composition and value. Explore the impact of proportion, color, value, line, edges, shape, and texture.
Color. Consider how knowledge and intention, your color palette, and what you see—your perspective—take turns being in charge of the color game, inventing rules and finding solutions.
Light effects. Learn how conditions of the day—how much light there is, and whether it’s soft, diffuse, golden, harsh, pale, or dusky—affect everything we see and how we paint.
Design and the visual idea. Discover strategies for developing a visual idea, from creating serial studies to working with a camera to improvisation.

Featuring exceptional still lifes, figures, and landscapes by other noted artists working in a range of mediums, Plein Air Techniques for Artists gives artists at all levels of experience the guidance they need to grow as a plein air artist.

Review: "Plein air" is just a fancy way of saying "painting outside." It normally is referring to painting during daylight hours, but Aimee Erickson doesn't limit the techniques demonstrated in this book to strictly daytime. Plein Air Techniques for Artists covers the range from morning, noon, and even twilight and nocturnal. (Personally, I think nocturnes are far more interesting than daylight paintings and don't receive nearly enough attention.)

Erickson covers the basics from materials and gear to various forms of lighting--indirect, back, front, sunlight and shadow, and nocturnes--to special effects and even includes a glossary and quick reference guide. As part of the materials and gear section, I appreciated the explanation of the various mediums and their pros/cons such as oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc. Erickson also provides information on composition and value, perspective, color, and so much more.

Plein Air Techniques for Artists is perfect for the beginner as well as the more experienced artist who may be looking to expand their knowledge.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Plein Air Techniques for Artists" is an art book that provides tips for painting outside, specifically for capturing various lighting conditions effectively in your painting. The author used oils, but the focus was not on "this brush with this paint" but on how to achieve different effects. She included questions to help problem-solve why your painting doesn't look the way you desired and had demonstrations of several beginner paintings and how to improve them.

The book started with basic materials and color and composition basics. She then focused on how to capture various lighting scenarios: shadows, direct and indirect light, backlighting, front light, nighttime, evening light, fog, glare, reflections, etc. The book was full of paintings demonstrating her points as well as some step-by-step demonstrations showing how to capture shadow-and-light effects when the sun keeps moving and such. This book is going into my art library as I know I'll need to refer back to it over time as there are a lot of useful tips in it. Overall, I'd recommend this book to any artist who paints outdoor scenes.

I received this review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plein Air Techniques for Artists is jam packed full of great information, as well as a lot of examples of other artist's work. Aimee breaks down each chapter for learning skills & techniques for general artists aspiring to paint, but not strictly for plein air artists only.
The book reviews materials to use depending on the medium of your choice, recommended gear to take for plein air, color theory & values, composition, how to "see" and break down your painting, etc. Each topic had several exercises to practice with as well!
I have wanted to try plein air, which is why I requested this book, but I didn't expect all the information that would be given!

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst this book is about painting outdoors, it concentrates more on lighting from various sources. There is the usual instructions on paper paint ,color and equipment. But the real gem of this book is the information on perspective and lighting, such as sunlight and shadows, indirect lighting, back lightening, front lighting, evening lighting and goes on to special effect such as illumination and much more. A great book to dive into when one can't get that effect that one wants when painting outdoors. Thanks you NetGalley and the publishers for the DRC

[MeKenzie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great manual that I would refer to every time I paint en plein air because it's so easy. Quick and to the point with beautiful painting examples.

While this book doesn't have the depth of some other books (like color theory, but I digress), the knowledge imparted is just as enriching and will most likely solve the pressing problem an artist may be facing.

Heck, it's a book that won't keep you in your chair reading, but will make you go out and paint the fleeting moment. It'll inspire you and get you going! :)

[Rick Forncett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plein Air Techniques for Artists is great book. It is full of inspiring photos of artwork and has an informal and relaxed text that gives ideas on how to approach a variety of subjects under different lighting conditions.
Although the title refers to plein air techniques and most of the paintings are in oil, I would find it equally useful for my way of working , which is usually from photos and using acrylics.
This book would make a great addition to any artist's collection.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book with lots of gorgeous examples I wish a few were a little larger - sometimes it was hard to see the point she was making. I also wish there was a mention of pastels but these are quibbles. I'm sure I'll refer to this book often.

[Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't need to paint in oils or outdoors to get something out of this book. It will help you think about light, color, atmosphere, and composition in your paintings, particularly landscapes.

[Maurren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Information includes clear explanation/examples of key plein air considerations. Good reference.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book is useful for artists of various skill levels. The author makes sure to be very descriptive with plenty of examples included with the text.

[Moss Mountains · Rating 3 out of 5]

An incredible run down of techniques that can be applied to any form of drawing or painting, not just plein air painting.