Soul City
I stepped into a challenge this summer: plein air painting. Plein air (“in the open air” in French) is the practice of painting in the outdoors. We have all seen it, we all know it. Artists pick up their canvases, paints, easels, drawing supplies, paper and head into the wild. Think: Monet. While I have sketched/painted in public before, I have never truly dove into the challenge fully. Until this summer.
Plein air painting is challenging for a multitude of reasons. The lighting changes, the weather is unpredictable, and subjects move. It certainly flexes your brain in a way that drawing from a photograph does not. You have to make quick choices to “capture the essence” of the scene without deliberating too much.
And within all this, a very personal growth takes place.
To set up an easel in the middle of a crowd, to calmly sketch, to ignore passersby, and to trust the process… all of these things flex more than just your brain, they flex your courage. For me, the most analogous experience is going to the gym. I hope many of you (especially my female friends) can relate to the initial fears of heading into the gym. Perhaps you start in the “women only” section of the gym, then make your way toward the cardio machines, then perhaps you go grab some dumbbells and move them to a quieter corner of the gym, until finally… you are able to courageously use the weights/dumbbells/barbells in the weight section regardless of who is around and how much they are lifting. You realize that you are allowed to take up space, that you don’t have to rush, and that your experience is your own.
It’s a beautiful journey. The one of trusting the process and trusting yourself.
That, to me, is plein air painting. Permission to take up some space and time to capture a beautiful moment.
The title of this 12 painting series is “Soul City.” Much like a soul mate, Kraków has (and always will) steal my heart.
