This is where it all began: my first-ever plein-air painting.
This wheat field is near my parents’ house. That day, I woke up very early in order to paint in the morning. The tripod I used, and am still using, is my mom’s old tripod, which she used to take videos of me and my siblings when we were younger.
I built that pochade box the weekend before, out of scraps I found in my brother’s shed. As soon as I was finished, I took it out for a test. The painting went really well. I still cherish it very much. Every time I look at it, I’m taken back to that day; I can practically feel the sun warming my back and smell the turpentine in the air. This was also my first encounter, literally, with what plein-air painting brings with it. A few people who were out on their morning walk stopped by, asking me what I was doing. A couple of little insects flew into my palette as I was painting.
I learned how quickly the light changes. Really, I learned what a dynamic experience plein-air painting is. It’s always a new challenge, and it always brings with it new experiences. The different kinds of people who come to talk to me are nowadays one of my favorite parts about painting outside. Of course, currently I’m painting in a metropolis, so there are a lot more people.
Meanwhile, this painting and a lot of my other past works put me into a very contemplative, pensive, meditative state. I got to enjoy nature for a few hours, completely entranced in observing all its little peculiarities. I tried to capture that serenity in this painting, while also maintaining the sheer amount of joy and hope it gave me for all the paintings to come.
That day was truly beautiful. The weather was bright, it wasn’t too warm or cold, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, which gave me some wonderful colors to play with.You can view this paintings in the shop here.
I hope that this painting will give some of that light and joy, into whichever home it’ll end up in.
My original setup
The scenery
