Plein air painting day!

Today was the first day I ever painted outside. As a bonus I got a hands on demo from my high school Art history teacher!

Dr. David Tripp came to visit the Central Texas Watercolor Society to show us his work and approach to plein air painting. We were at the Carleen Bright Arboretum in Woodway. Seeing how he works really motivated me to stand and paint outside today. The way he approaches painting is simple. He leaves a lot of white paper showing which bring focus to the subject. It breaks up the space and a place for your eye to rest. Each paint stroke or dab of the brush applied was with intention. Less is more. I was definitely “chasing nature” with the sky changing from cloudy to sunny in a matter of minutes. After today’s session, I  will be painting more outside as the weather finally calms down from the heat.

Dr. Tripp, as I have always called him from high school, gave a great short presentation on what he wants to leave behind as he gets on in age. I am happy to report that I bought a couple of his original tree sketches from his 30 days of 30 trees, a card with a train on it that I remembered from his blogs, and an original watercolor of a landscape in Snyder, Texas. So, he will have a little bit of his history hanging in our house. It brought back memories for me listening to him talk about stories and his favorite books he gleans inspiration from for his journal and paintings. He is truly an inspiration.

As I continue painting in my life and freelancing, I can add landscapes to my repertoire (after more practicing, of course.) Currently, I’m working on Inktober stuff that you can catch up on my instagram. My handle is @TheArtLabTX

Please go follow David Tripp on his blog:
https://davidtripp.wordpress.com/
His writing is filled with poetic thought and it’s always great seeing his process as he works and problem solves through his various paintings.

Have a great day!
-Christy