What is Plein Air? — Wayne Plein Air (2024)

FAQs

What is the best definition of plein air? ›

En plein air is a French expression meaning “in the open air”, and refers to the act of painting outdoors with the artist's subject in full view. Plein air artists capture the spirit and essence of a landscape or subject by incorporating natural light, color and movement into their works.

plein-air painting, in its strictest sense, the practice of painting landscape pictures out-of-doors; more loosely, the achievement of an intense impression of the open air (French: plein air) in a landscape painting.

The French term plein air means out of doors and refers to the practice of painting entire finished pictures out of doors.

Amongst the most prominent features of this school were its tonal qualities, colour, loose brushwork, and softness of form. These were variants that were particularly relevant to the mid 19th-century Hudson River School and to Impressionism.

noun. circus [noun] an open space in a town etc where several roads meet. place [noun] (often abbreviated to Pl. when written) a word used in the names of certain roads, streets or squares.

the open air, especially the daylight of outdoors. Fine Arts. the quality of light and atmosphere out of doors, especially this quality as rendered in painting.

Painting en plein air allowed artists to capture the emotional and sensory dimensions of a particular landscape at a particular moment in time.

Because time is limited, the style tends to be loose and simplified, and the paintings are often small in size ranging from 6×8” to 11×14”. Typically these paintings are framed in a simple style in silver and gold made of molding about 3 inches wide with very little embellishment.

Oil colors are the classic plein air painting medium, the one preferred by artists like Monet and Renoir, and the one most frequently thought of when considering the subject.

Does plein air have to be landscape? ›

Plein air painters and studio painters both paint landscapes or any other subject. Plein Air painting offers the artist a better ability to see the light and colors in a scene since they are right there on location.

The area was filled with artists painting en plein air. This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Both artists were "plein air" painters so camp life in the outdoors suited them well.

Did you know that the invention of the collapsible metal paint tube in the 19^th century, allowing artists to keep their oil paints both fresh and portable, made it possible for the Impressionists to pursue painting en plein air, or outdoors?

En plein air. A French term meaning "in the open air", describing the Impressionist practice of painting outdoors so artists could have direct access to the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere while working.

“En plein air” simply means “in the open air” and was originally synonymous with the idea of creating paintings out of doors, in natural light, rather than in a studio.

En plein air, a French phrase meaning "in the open air," describes the process of painting a landscape outdoors, though the phrase has also been applied to the resulting works.

verb. fill up [phrasal verb] to make or become completely full.