Earth Day - Plein Air

Emily Oaks Nature Center~Plein Air~Aruna Sarode~Acrylic~8x10

I participated in the Earth day celebrations plein air event Brush With Nature at the Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie, IL on Saturday, April 20, 2013. It was a cold but sunny day. I thoroughly enjoyed painting out doors. Here is my painting and a photo from that day.

Plein Air painting

Fall harvest~6"x6"~Acrylic on canvas

After a really long time, on Sunday, I attended a plein air painting session at the Perricone Garden Center in Volo, IL. They have created a variety of fall garden vignettes to inspire the artists. I chose to paint this grouping of pumpkin, kale and corn.

Plein Air checklist

I enjoy plein air (painting on location) with a couple of artist members from the Lake County Art League. I have struggled to remember all the supplies I would need. So, I made myself a checklist of all the things I may need. Although I may not take everything on this list, it will help me decide quickly, based on location and weather conditions. Here is my list for acrylic or watercolor media.

1. Hat
2. Canvas/Paper
3. Paints - acrylic/watercolor
4. Brushes in holder
5. Water container
6. Bottle of water.
7. Mist sprayer (to keep acrylic paints wet and for other effects)
8. Palette (I use a disposable paper palette for acrylic)
9. Easel (I use a valpod which has tripod with a attachment for board and palette holder)
10. Sketch book
11. Pencil
12. Kneaded eraser
13. Paper towels
14. Artist apron
15. Drop cloth/table cloth
16. My reading glasses!
17. Camera - check battery, memory card
18. Business cards
19. Insect repellent, SPF
20. Nuggets of dark chocolate and water bottle.
21. Artcomber (This is a product I can't do without. It can hold all your supplies in and also doubles as a chair and has good wheels to roll on the entire bag)
22. Driving directions/GPS to the location.
23. Wallet with driver's license! (In the frenzy, we might sometimes forget this)

Well this is my list. Let me know what works for you.