Plein Air Painting Beginners - Start HereAs with anything new, plein air painting beginners need encouragement Beginning anything new is both exciting and scary. It takes a leap of faith in yourself to put yourself in the shoes of a total Beginner. This page is intended to give you encouragement to start – not to expect that you will produce brilliant paintings anytime soon, and to be OK with that fact. While out plein air painting so many people have said the exact same thing to me - “I would love to try painting like that but I wouldn't be any good” or “I tried painting once and it didn't work – I wasn't any good”. The idea that we could expect to be good at something the first time we try it is unbelievable. It's like expecting to play the piano at concert level when you have never touched the keys! Painting is a skill we can definitely learn if we are prepared to put in practice time, learn from others who have gone before us and get enjoyment from the process of painting. If you have a passion for the process, you will get better over time. It is inevitable Recommendations of What to Do Next1. Find a plein air painting beginners class to join. Painting outdoors in the landscape is quite different to painting in the studio. I recommend you start out right with a good teacher who's style you admire.2. Schedule your painting class time at least once a week and attend regularly. 3. Take a class on mixing colors – this will allow you to get a good start on how to mix all the colors you need from a limited number of paint tubes. This skill is essential to a plein air painter. 4. Don't be hard on yourself. Keep painting your small paintings – regard each painting as practice – some will go well and others won't. It's part of
the process.
6. Start calling yourself “Artist” - this will feel weird to begin with. Once you start to believe it it will do wonders for your confidence and painting skills. 7. Most of all – HAVE FUN! Many great websites exist with initial art instruction for
plein air painting beginners.
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