"Plein Air" from the French meaning "fresh air", refers to painting outdoors from life, then a small amount of touch ups in the studio.
"Alla Prima" same as plein air, but there are no touch ups in the studio. The finished product is exactly as done outdoors.
The paintings on this trip were almost all "alla prima" I think this gives the picture a fresher, more vibrant feel. As a "Modern Impressionist", I try to capture the essence of a scene, the play of light & shadow, the rustle of the wind & the richness of the colours.
This is however, the most difficult way to paint that I know, as all of your mistakes are not fine tuned in the studio, but it's an immensely more satisfying experience when it works.
Normally I have about 1-2 hours to finish a painting before the light changes too much (although I have done some in as little as 20 minutes in the wnter!).
This vacation I was able to work on several of the paintings for 4 days, which was a real luxury & was able to atain a more "finished" look. I will put some notes re: the techie stuff (some of the images may take a bit to upload if you're on dial up), but hopefully the finished product will be worth your patience. The panorama ("Opus") is really big, but pretty cool looking.
Thanks for visiting -G-
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