It's a grey ugly day but you’re a plein air genius

🎨 Discover the beauty and challenges of plein air on a grey day! This video will show you how to capture the mood of a grey day in your outdoor painting in 5 easy steps. Unlock your artistic potential and embrace the beauty of every weather condition with this insightful tutorial.
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[@PleinAirSchool]

Let me know below what you are currently struggling with in your art and I will do my best to help!

[@boooo6789]

I'm really struggling with picking the right colors lately. I can do value sketches and underpaintings okay, but when it comes to adding color, I just can't seem to get it right. Everything either turns out super dull or way too bright. My greens look off and the shadows just don't pop.

[@PleinAirSchool]

I can address that! Find a couple landscape paintings by dead master artist that you like that aren't too complicated. See if you can first get those colors, then try to do a painting with them. I will put this on the list of videos to make. Also say it out loud when you are looking at it. Use a tertiary color. This is "blue green" Dont say it is Grey, but you can say it has some red or orange in it. Then say out loud if it leans warmer or cooler than what you are mixing. Then make a mark, and compare it to what you already have down, then ask yourself again. "Was that warm or cool enough?" I like to paint comparatively, not mixing for exact colors. If that doesn't make much sense, my apologies. I will do a demo of that and it will be in a video here soon! Happy painting

[@IterativeArt]

The all green landscape of summer

[@nickfeganart5776]

Thanks for the well-informed narration Roy. You produced a beautiful fresh painting in very 'flat' light. Bravo!

[@PleinAirSchool]

You're welcome Nick, and thank you! Hope the info is useful for you.

[@boooo6789]

Roy, words can't express how valuable (and entertaining) your videos are! It's not just the skill teaching, but the joy in your painting that's truly inspiring. It makes me eager to get to my easel. Thank you so much! Keep doing what you're doing - you're a true artist in every sense of the word.

[@PleinAirSchool]

That means a lot, thank you! If it can help you get past whatever is hanging you up that brings me a great deal of joy. I've had some great teachers and would like to share what they taught. Happy Painting!

[@janesoncanvas8337]

I’m going to listen to this excellent video over and over. You said some really great stuff. Thank you! What a beautiful painting you made, too. Glad to have found your channel!

[@PleinAirSchool]

Thanks you! hope it helps you on your journey!

[@hippopotamusbosch]

I’ve gotten into the habit of scraping down over worked passages. But now that I work digitally, I can press the rewind button. ⏪

[@PleinAirSchool]

Yeah that is a tough one, when I get into working digitally for more than a week and then revert back to paint my mind goes to hit that Ctrl+z instead of wiping things away.

[@stephy_spacesout]

Awesome videos. They are so informative and helpful! I can't wait to try to apply these tips to my own paintings!

[@346UNCLEBOB]

Know when to stop... YES! I need to work on that. Thanks.

[@PleinAirSchool]

Thank you, It's a hard lesson to learn but it can be done, good luck out there!

[@sueg65]

Hey, you are really good at this teaching thing! Simple effective communication. I like the idea of seeking out strong value patterns on overcast days. The big ??? for me is creating color harmony and turning form when the sun is absent. I can’t quite translate the silvery light and deep warm shadows. Thank you for posting these videos!

[@PleinAirSchool]

Thank you Sue, that is nice to hear! I can put that big question on the list of video ideas but for the time being, when I'm thinking about turning form on a grey day, I'm looking at the sky color and then getting a darker version of that and using it on that edge. I may skew it warmer (relatively) or cooler depending on how deep in the image something is. Try adding some cad red (and darken it with a deep blue or green) into those shadows if you can't get them warm enough. It might look funny to begin with so play around with it and see what it does for you.

[@rebeccacampbell8020]

Hi Roy! Please demonstrate how you wipe out areas in one of your future videos. Thanks.

[@PleinAirSchool]

Hey Rebecca! for areas that need to be repainted or when blocking in over a wash?

[@meredith7236]

I am a Boswell too, just in Sydney Australia.

[@PleinAirSchool]

Awesome, do you trace the name back to Scottland? Happy painting!

[@stevefox2831]

Roy! I just found your channel. So good to see you are doing well. Great work man!

[@PleinAirSchool]

thanks man, good to hear from you. Are you on facebook or Instagram? I will message you over there

[@bradleebeauchamp5239]

love the video keep it up :) makes me want to tackle a gray day plein air session

[@PleinAirSchool]

Thanks Bradlee, Go for it man, good luck out there!

[@Susiachi]

We sure have had more than our share of gray days here in NE Indiana this month, so great topic. I can’t help but feel that the detail in the left foreground grasses is stealing the thunder of you lovely distant riverbank trees. Similar marks. Know what I mean? To me the far river bend is the focal point. Just a thought.

[@PleinAirSchool]

Yeah, that was my read on it to after getting back to the studio.

[@SuzetteHagan-zv4gs]

Oh the gray day dilemma. But there is so much beauty outside this time of year. The values don't change that much but the muted reds, purples and yellows are wonderful. Love these videos. You inspire me to paint more.....

[@PleinAirSchool]

There certainly is! Glad it makes you want to get the brush moving. Happy painting Suzette!

[@arachosia]

Great painting! It’s been pretty gray here lately, so I found this helpful. I have a question that maybe you can help with. It looks like the paint goes onto your canvas very easily. For me, it’s always a big effort just to get the canvas covered. Maybe my surface is too absorbent or I’m not using enough medium…I don’t know, but it’s very frustrating. Can I ask what kind of panel you use and what medium, if any? Thanks!

[@PleinAirSchool]

I'm using inexpensive panels from hobby lobby in most of my demos. When toning the canvas I use paint thinner to push the paint into the canvas with a rag after getting it covered. It helps anything put on after that sit on top of the surface. When I get to painting I will use a galkyd with thinner in it and maybe a linseed or stand oil (very little) as well. That I use fairly liberally to begin with until most of the surface is covered and then you just start going thicker with the paint. Good question, I will put it on the demo list. Would that be something you would watch, just showing examples of putting paint down on the canvas?

[@arachosia]

@@PleinAirSchool thanks for the reply. Yes, I would watch a video about that. It’s the number one issue I’ve been struggling with. Another video idea could be how to paint dark over light…maybe a sign with dark letters on a white background. Anyway, keep up the great content!

[@PleinAirSchool]

That is a good one! Never had anyone ask about that. It is done but typically just little accent pieces. I will look into it! Thank you

[@oliveira.jessica]

Good advice, I’ve had this feeling of not knowing when to stop painting, sometimes this becomes a little more difficult to notice when painting outside, already in the studio I can brake, what advice would you give me to improve this outside too?

[@PleinAirSchool]

Thank you. Besides stepping back away from the painting 10 or more feet, recently I've started using a timer on my phone. I will work 25 minutes, then think for 5 minutes about the next steps and how far you want to take the image. Then repeat that process as many times as needed or you have hit whatever time limit you set for yourself beforehand. Past that I'd have to sit and think about it for a while. Maybe that will be a video in the future.

[@oliveira.jessica]

​ @Paint_with_Roy thanks for responding and it would be cool to see this in practice on video!

[@PleinAirSchool]

Yeah, I will write it down and see if I can remember to record that part next time I'm out painting. It has been so foggy its hard to see here the past two days, like that movie The Mist.

[@oliveira.jessica]

​ @Paint_with_Roy wow, I imagine, and a good reference haha, it's only like this here in the mornings, I hope you can record more videos outdoors!