Don's House, En plein air

Watercolor 8.5 inches X 11 inches

This is a painting from last summer. When I originally painted it at Don's I wasn't satisfied with it. But I kept it.

Years ago, I looked at a painting I hadn't liked when I painted it and decided it was good enough to enter in an exhibit. Since then I have been slow to throw away paintings. Sometimes, a month or a year later, I look at them and decide I like them better than I did when I painted them.

Last summer I didn't like the porch after I had painted it but this morning I decided that if I washed away the logs piled behind the swing on the porch I would like the painting. So I did. One of the joys of painting compared to photography is that I can ignore anything that I don't like in a scene.

En plein air is a French expression that means "in the open air". Since paints in tubes were introduced in the 1870's, painting outside has become easier. Before that painters had to make their paints as they needed them. Tubes are easily transported. Plein air has become very popular.