For the Fun of It - Plein-Air when you just don't want to draw outside

I recently took a trip, again! I tend to travel in the winter- it's significantly cheaper to travel in the icy chill of winter (especially northeast from my home of Los Angeles). Also, I'm currently still under-employed, so I have the freedom to wander away for days at a time.

This trip was to Long Island for two wonderful school visits, where I gave presentations on some of my picture books, and a talk on graphic novels.

Truly a selfless resolution.

Then, I popped by Staten Island to visit a friend traveling from Philidelphia, and then onward to Montreal to visit my dear friend Cheyenne.

This column, we’re going to talk about plein air.

Every time I travel, I pack art supplies, and paper, with this grand idea that I'll stop and paint plein air. What is “plein air”?

En plein air or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors.

All cozy and tight in my fav t-190 toolbox!

But more often than not, I don't have time to stand and draw, or I'm with other people and don't want to bring out a bunch of supplies while we’re eating croissants. And frankly- plein air when it's freezing temperatures is not always ideal. So, here are some things I like to do to form visual memories and draw fun things without needing to stop and actually draw.

Taking Photos

The quickest way to document cool things you see is to take a photo. And I'm not talking about nice photos with a DSLR that are carefully composed. I'm talking about quick snaps as you're walking, of anything cool you see. You can use that as a reference.

I saw this house as I was walking to get dinner, and ended up painting it when I got home!

What I like about these plein air/not plein air methods is that it's good practice for living in the moment. It's fun to look around, and see what might be fun to paint without the pressure of getting it just right in that moment. It's like a brain catalog of interesting things.

One fun thing I saw in Montreal which I haven’t painted yet but am hoping to is this little school-raft of children. You can see how quick, crooked, and weird this photo is. But it gives me all the information I might need to make a drawing.

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Memory Snap

It's not always going to be appropriate to have a camera out taking pictures. This is where the memory snap comes in, and apologies in advance if this seems esoteric.

When I was a kid, I read the book series "Cam Jansen". It was about a girl with photographic (eidetic) memory, who would take mental snapshots to solve mysteries. We don't all have photographic memories, but recalling images and scenes can get better with practice. A lot of my substack has been based around these memories or scenes (like bird seed growing from the back of my parents’ car, or my dad's rock garden). I don't have a good memory, either (ask my husband, or anyone who has been introduced to me several times but I still don't remember their name).

Taking a mental note of something you might want to draw later is a multi-step process for me. For example, on this trip, when I was in the security line atc the airport, I saw something that made me smile. The family in front of me had to take their dog out of their carrier for screening, and when they finally removed the dog, it was this plump little sausage that they gave to the 4-year-old child to hold. The dog was almost as big as the kid!

I made a note in my brain- this is funny, draw this later.

Sometimes, if I can feel the thought slipping away (say the travel is stressful, or I'm about to take a big ol’ airplane nap), I will quickly write myself an email. The emails I send to myself are legendary (including ones at 10:30 PM that just read "FAT CAT AS PILLOW FOR FABERGE EGG"). The emails have just enough for me to remember.

Then, when I sit down to draw, I try to remember- not so much what precisely the scene looked like, and details of lighting, etc, but more what made the scene interesting. Lynda Barry is a great resource for these sorts of journal recollections. I recommend this book “What it is”- if you're interested in exploring more memory snap-style drawings and comics.

I still have more photos and interesting things to pull from for this trip. The nice part about not drawing at the time is it gives you a lot to work on later. The not-so-nice part is that our memory is fallible, so if there's anything you really don't want to miss, draw it first or make a note for yourself if you don't take a picture.

Hope this inspired you to be more in the moment while you're traveling, and not shame yourself for not drawing. Drawing every day and every moment is a nice idea, but more often, walking with dear friends is special and should be respected and preserved too.

it's time to shout out my dear friend

Alison Stevenson

! It's her birthday soon. Her writing and comedy is top-notch, and this line from her latest substack sent me into a tizzy of understanding.

I was bad this trip and got a few art bits. I also swapped some inks with Cheyenne, so now I've got some more things to try!!

Anyway, you know how much I love handmade watercolors. When I was returning from Long Island, I stopped by in NYC to visit Kremer Pigments.

What a wonderous place- in addition to having racks and racks of powdered pigments (and the little rocks and minerals that make up those pigments), it also has some in-house made paints.

I picked up this fluorescent brick red. It's a color I've been looking for a while. I've been on the hunt for watercolor/gouache that shines at full intensity.

Ok love u bye