About Plein Air Painting

Painting en plein air is nothing new. Commonly originated by Great Britain’s John Constable, outdoor painting became fundamental to French Impressionism around the year 1860. The birth of the French term en plein air–literally translated as outdoors­–is a more elegant phrase than outdoor painting. Henry Flagler initialized the plein air movement in St. Augustine, bringing in artists from around the country to paint the historic town, and the Art Association harnessed the method in a marketing campaign–Like Painting in Europe! – which helped the organization survive during the Great Depression.

As the sun rises in the east and moves towards the west, shadows and colors transform. The plein air artist paints what they see in front of them at a particular moment in time, capturing these changing illuminations. Claude Monet is perhaps one of the most notable plein air painters and a forerunner of French Impressionism. He was notorious for painting the same scene over and over, but at different times of the day or year, to capture intricate differences in lighting and colors.