We had scheduled two weekend art shows in route to visit our daughter and her family in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The original plan was to travel to Clear Lake, Iowa, for a show then travel slowly to Greeley, Colorado, for another weekend show.  Then back to Cheyenne for a week of visiting and my wife’s 50^th class reunion.

The original plan was to do plein air painting during all of the travel times.  For those who do not know, plein air is the technical term for open air painting.  This is directly opposite to studio painting.  Flexibility is key in plein air painting.  The artist is exposed to all the negative elements of sun, rain, wind and bugs.  On the opposite side the paintings can be brighter as the sun illuminates the landscape.

Getting back to the original plans.  I set aside my pochade box, tripod, chair and oil paint for the trip.

As I loaded the van, it quickly became obvious that my large oil box would not fit.  I quickly packed a smaller set of acrylic paints and assumed I could paint sitting on the ground.  One of the first stops on the trip to Iowa was the Dick Blick Art Supply warehouse (a personal weakness) in Galesburg, Illinois.  This was where I purchased a small watercolor set and a pad of paper. (Bear in mind that I had not done any serious watercolor painting for 35 years!  With flexibility as the key, I knew I could do it.

The first plein air piece was at Delabar State Park campground in Illinois.  Tent camping has been a relaxing activity for years, but this time was different.  Somehow the rainfly for the tent was not packed.  That did not deter Linda or me!  I was up early to do my first plein air piece – a dried leaf on the ground. I also managed to take photos of trees, a woodpecker, several robins and squirrels. 

After packing up, we drove across South Dakota where I did a painting of hay bales.  During each travel section I found time to paint small watercolor studies.  Each piece took less than an hour.  Bugs were seldom a problem but rain showers and a lack of deep shadows due to clouds were a constant problem that forced more flexibility.

In Cheyenne the weather was great, and I found the grounds of the Cheyenne Botanical Gardens to be great.  With all the struggle for change of mediums to weather can be easily overlooked.  The simple studies all provided memories of location and ideas that can be transferred to studio paintings in oil or acrylic. 

All I can say is, try to be open to trying different mediums and expose yourself to plein air opportunities.  I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.  Remember that flexibility is key.