Plein-air on a windy day.

It is a beautiful sunny warm day and the wind is blowing with gusts up to 40km per hour. Do you go plain-air painting or not? Well it's a painting morning and I am going out, windy yuk and all. I have set my head and heart to be outdoors again today so taking a brave pill and an anchor I set off to find the most sheltered place to  set up and paint.






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Nature supplies a lot of answers if you look.  I have seen that animals will seek the most sheltered places to rest in these conditions, so that's where I looked.  It didn't take long to find a patch of ground out of the strongest of the wind but not intruding on the local kangaroo population. These guys had the best spot and with the shade but being bigger than me I left them to it.  

Another indicator of a sheltered place is to look at the tree tops and watch the wind as it goes through them but not down on ground level. Watch the grass heads not bend and sway. Vincent VanSpot (the studio dog) came with me and found his ideal sheltered place in the sun with a small breeze. He and I both dislike the wind, you may have guessed that by now.

Often with the wind comes a 'chill factor'.  today we have the south south west wind so it is a cold wind. I'm standing in the shade and a breeze so it's about being protected by wearing the clothes that work for you. I wear a lightweight wind jacket to stop the breeze and keep me comfortable. It is easy to rollup and stash in with my kit.

So I duly set up in  this lovely sheltered nook, in some shade, and found a group of trees to zone in on for my painting.  It is interesting that I went for the good conditions first and the motif second.  Looking out for number one is a priority. There is usually something to paint and I make the most of where I am and paint something, even if it's not my fav thing.
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Plein-air painting is the objective, getting there and being comfortable are primary concerns. Use common-sense, don't let the weather spoil a good day out if there is some sensible way of staying safe.

What are your pet hates about painting outdoors?    Leave me a comment :)

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