Plein Air Tip #5 How To Find your Subject

'Azalea Path' 8x10 plein air pastel ©Karen Margulis

Purchase this painting $125 here

Plein air painting can be overwhelming. There is so much to paint. Your senses are bombarded. How do you narrow your focus and choose your subject? I always like to set my gear down, take a deep breath and walk around scouting out possibilities. I like to take a lot of photos for future references and it also lets me casually scan the surroundings to see what strikes me. If something looks promising I will usually note it, walk a bit more just to make sure. Most of the time I will return to that first spot but I now have some great reference material.
After choosing the spot...what's next? Narrow it down and decide on your composition.

My painting on location at Smith-Gilbert Gardens

Tools for finding your composition

There are many tools available for help with composition. I have them all! I never remember to use them. But looking at the scene can be confusing. How do you remember where your composition starts and ends? What I like to do is a quick thumbnail and make notes...such as 'begin at the crocked tree and end at the red bush' . To help me I rely on my photos. I always have my camera with me so I take a photo and look at the screen to help me do the thumbnail

If you don't carry a camera then snap a photo on your phone! Now look at your photos to help you pick your composition! High tech plein air at it's finest.