Painting outside: my advice
Painting outside brings real challenges, particularly in northerly climates, but it can also be very rewarding.
I don't favour sunny calm days, but thrive in a winter gale. The strong wind and ever-changing light animate the landscape and the artist simultaneously. My paintings get lashed by sea spray, blasted by sand and frozen in ice. It is important to work with these forces of nature and not fight against them, because the effects they have on the pictures are utterly in keeping with the subject matter.
I often paint through the night, and the sound and smell of the sea guides my brush in the dark. There can be few more exciting moments for a painter than seeing the colours for the first time as these night pictures arrive in the light of my studio.
The following advice is intended for anybody that wants to try painting outside for themselves.
I don't favour sunny calm days, but thrive in a winter gale. The strong wind and ever-changing light animate the landscape and the artist simultaneously. My paintings get lashed by sea spray, blasted by sand and frozen in ice. It is important to work with these forces of nature and not fight against them, because the effects they have on the pictures are utterly in keeping with the subject matter.
I often paint through the night, and the sound and smell of the sea guides my brush in the dark. There can be few more exciting moments for a painter than seeing the colours for the first time as these night pictures arrive in the light of my studio.
The following advice is intended for anybody that wants to try painting outside for themselves.
- Always tape your paper to a heavy board on all four edges. The slightest gap will see it torn and blown away.
- Have a pile of stones ready to weigh everything down.
- Even a slight lump in the ground can give enough shelter to protect the surface of the page from the worst of the wind.
- Do not be afraid of the elements. Painting outside is all about capturing the elements so if sand or sea gets blown on to your picture fear not; it is perfectly in keeping with the subject matter. Likewise with frost or rain. If you work with the elements and don't fight against them, they can help your work along.
- Charcoal is good in the rain, so is oil paint, but the logistics of carrying a wet oil painting in a force eight gale can make it a messy business.
- Keep everything as low as possible. If you do have to stand up with big pictures, make sure the wind can blow it like a flap rather than trying to hold the picture into the wind because this will send you flying to the ground.
- Primed boards are more suitable than canvas for working outside in strong wind.
- Wear the right clothes. I now use a Norwegian survival suit that keeps me warm even in winter gales. Do not breath too much cold, damp air, day after day. Last winter, after three full days painting on the beach in sometimes-driving hail, I came down with pleurisy, so it is worth wrapping a scarf around your mouth.
- Finally, enjoy it. Painting outside is exhilarating and exciting working, especially in such a fantastic place as Shetland.
