Outdoor painting is a refreshing and unique experience! The colors and vibrancy of light change every second as the sun moves through the day. Painting outdoors is a great way to practice your precision of linework and color tonality, while painting at your own pace. We want to share with you these must-have items for you to have a perfect day painting!
French Easel
French easels are affordable, compact, and incredibly useful! You can fit all of the necessary materials for painting inside a compartment in the easel and carry your canvas on it as well. The easel also comes with a great rectangular wood palette.
The legs are retractable and have spikes at their ends to easily anchor into the ground. A French easel is also very transportable and allows you to carry it around like a briefcase!
Connoisseur Hog Bristle Brushes & Palette Knife
Although there are many types of brushes available, we recommend using the Connoisseur Hog Bristle Brushes for your outdoor painting endeavors! Hog bristle brushes pick up much more paint than any other type of brush and are most suitable for painting sessions that last a few hours.
These brushes will help you get a finished look on a painting that you will have limited time to work on. They also come in all the shapes necessary to approach any painting style you would like to try! Don’t forget your palette knife to mix colors!
Brush Cleaner with Air Tight Lid
A brush cleaner is a must-have for any artist that wants to properly maintain their brushes. A brush cleaner truly makes a difference in the way that it removes most of the paint residue from your bristles. We would suggest using a large one while you’re working in your studio and a more compact one with a, most importantly, air-tight lid that will be perfect to bring outside! Whether you are carrying water or mineral spirits in your brush cleaner, the important thing is to keep it sealed and safe!
Disposal palette
A disposable palette is made up of many sheets that have a special plastic coating on them that keeps them from absorbing paint, mediums, or water! They are especially perfect for outdoor painting as they are meant for quick painting sessions where the sheet can be torn off and thrown out at the end of the day. No clean-up is required when using these and they are easily transportable.
Viewfinder
Having a viewfinder in your toolbox is key when painting from life! A viewfinder helps you form the composition of your work and accurately capture the proportions of your subject matter. Using its grid, you can easily translate the subject in front of you to your canvas in your preliminary sketch. This is especially useful considering the shorter painting sessions you’ll have when painting outdoors!
Paint
Paint is an obvious material here. What we want to touch on precisely with this material is the color selection and type of tube that you bring. You can challenge yourself by limiting yourself to painting with primary colors and white only! This can help you practice your color mixing skills.
Find creative ways to have fun and learn new techniques!
Accessories
Make sure to bring a bag for your trash, a water bottle to stay hydrated & snacks to keep your energy levels high!
Bring a few rags or paper towels to clean and dry your brushes as well.
Always have these items at hand and make them part of your list!
With all of these elements, you are ensure to have a pleasant time whilst painting outdoors. Your next step will be picking a beautiful view for you to paint. Make sure that you check the weather before heading out and bring a camera to take some photos in case you need some extra time to finish your painting!
