Lessons on Plein Air Painting on a Beach Near South Haven, MI

 Maybe it was an impulse buy, maybe it was an investment.

Either way, I'm having fun with this traveling french easel box that I found on a great clearance price.

 I initiated it on the beach this past weekend. Got paint and sand all over it and learned to set the extendable legs on rocks to keep it from sinking into the sand.

I also learned how dependent I am on my spray bottle. The paint dried so fast on the canvas I could barely even blend it, and these canvases aren't so very big.

Most of the time I spent color matching, and that's OK.But I need more practice for next time.








When we first got there the beach had the most peculiar fog I have yet seen in that part of Michigan. So much for painting a horizon line!



Usually, I am a very fast painter.

However, with not being able to blend the colors as I wanted to (forgetting my spray bottle in the truck) I didn't actually finish many of the paintings, I just started tons. By the time I had laid out the sky and mixed colors, the lighting started to change or fog dissipated enough to change what I was painting. That's what I get.

This is why artists often create sky panels before painting in the field, painting the blue sky background in advance instead of painting it on site. I started with my white panels. 
 While I want to finish these at home, how "en plein air" are they then? I suppose that would be part of the value of them. The sand that stuck to the painting also adds value. And the random bug.

I did not use the lake water to paint with because organic matter may affect the painting over time, and I did not pour out the paint water on the beach either, I dumped it in the bathroom later.

Be earth conscious, artists!

What tips do I recommend for you? 

1. Spray bottle to keep acrylic paints moist. 
2. Bring business cards for onlookers...just saying.
3. Bring clean water to drink, and clean water to paint with. 
• Lake water has organic debris that may compromise your painting later on. 
4. Separate paint containers for dirty paint water ---do not dump in the lake! 
5. Rest easel legs on rocks to keep them from sinking in the sand. 
6. Use sky panels if you know the probable weather. (usually a prepainted blue gradient on canvas)
7. SUNBLOCK and sun protection for you. I might invest in a big hat.