Plein Air with Julia Hawkins
We will paint outdoors whenever and wherever possible; we have favourite spots in the gardens of Chiswick House and Gunnersbury Park, and close by the studio the riverside, the green spaces and the allotments of Dukes Meadows.
If the weather on the day makes it impossible to work outside, students will be offered a choice of a reschedule or a full refund.
Materials checklist
1. Paint box / pochade box (if you have one). If you want to buy one you need to look for a medium box, my one is 15 x 11 inches. Here is a decent Mabef box 16 x 12 inches: https://www.jacksonsart.com/mabef-m105-pochade-box-12-5x16in
You will need to buy a standard camera tripod for it. A good pochade box can be useful in the future for working outside as well as indoors, so invest in it if you can.
2. Palette
3. Palette knife
4. Surface. This can be a canvas board, additionally gessoed. Pebeo canvas panel 25x35cm; Winsor & Newton canvas board 12x10 inches (30x25cm) or similar make and size are good. I tend to buy more of the same size as they are easier to transport when wet and saves money on frames. Please get two or three of the same size.
To carry a number of your wet boards back home you will need to stick a few bits of thick matches at the back of them. It’s good to do it beforehand. If you have the same size boards you can stack them up, providing that the very top one stays unpainted and covers the freshly painted picture. You can use big rubber bands or a string to keep boards together. Big art suppliers sell special ‘clips’ to carry wet stretched canvases.
5. Paints. You won’t need many. Usual set: titanium white, raw umber, red ochre transparent, raw sienna, gold ochre, french ultramarine, viridian, cadmium red, cadmium yellow. Don’t forget to check your supply each time before going out to paint.
6. Brushes. These should be good hog long flat or filbert, N8-12. You won’t need many just three or four.
7. Viewfinder (a photo mount can be bought in a photo shop or make it yourself out of cardboard)
8. Solvent
9. Jar to wash your brushes
10. Kitchen towel
11. Apron or old shirt
12. Hat
13. Plastic bag for rubbish
14. Plastic bag to carry your paintings in
15. Light rucksack to carry all of the above apart from the paint box
Also don’t forget:
Money, charged phone, drink, soap, medical plaster just in case, insect repellent, light umbrella if raining. Light fishing stool if you prefer to sit when painting.
Your brushes should be clean and ready for work before each plein air. Paints supply checked, solvent refilled. Checking all your things the night before is a good habit to have.
Enjoy your Plein Air practice hassle free!