High Low Art Space
Art Classes and Figure Drawing
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Painting in Plein Air

 

Painting In Plein Air

2 Day Intensive

Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

July 5th & 6th 2025

WITH RYAN CHAPMAN

level: intermediate

price: $180

class summary

Plein Air painting refers to the long tradition of artists who paint outside in the open air. In this weekend intensive we will follow in the footsteps of the old masters, taking our canvas and paints to capture the beauty of the outdoors from life. This class is the intended follow up to our Studio Landscape Painting, and Intro to Oils class. In this class students will learn the fundamental techniques and materials to begin painting landscapes from life.

Some painting experience is highly recommended in this intermediate class, and knowledge of techniques and materials will allow you to get much more out of the class.

MATERIALS

I recommend getting all of the materials from this list that you can. Some of the materials in this class are optional, and any required materials will be highlighted in Bold

Bring along a sketchbook for warm-ups! You can sketch your thumbnails with any drawing medium that you are comfortable with. (Assuming it’s portable)

I will be teaching this class with oil paint. Students are welcome to bring watercolor, gouache or acrylic, but the materials and techniques that I will focus on revolve around oil paint, so oils are highly recommended!

  • 2-4 Assorted painting surfaces. Stretched Canvas, Gesso Panel, Canvas Panel are all good choices (For this class I Don’t recommend anything larger than 9x12)

  • Bring your Gamsol in a reliable Jar with a good seal. The metal solvent jars From Amazon or the art store are Ideal.

  • Various Sized Brushes For Oil painting (good mix of synthetic and bristle brushes is recommended.)

  • Pochade Box or Foldable Travel Easel there are tons of different options for this. French easels are fine, but they are a bit bulky. If you just use a foldable easel, you’ll need to bring a palette as well!

  • Pencil/ Drawing Tools

  • Paints:

  • Recommended Paint Colors: (Gamblin and Winsor Newton are good brands)

  • Titanium White

  • Raw Umber

  • Burnt Umber

  • Alizarin Crimson

  • Yellow Ochre

  • Cadmium Yellow (Light or Cad Lemon)

  • Ultramarine Blue

  • Cobalt Blue or Cerulean

  • Cobalt Teal (My Favorite)

  • Ivory Black

  • + Any Other Colors You Want to Bring

  • Get A paint box or small art bin to make it easy to transport

  • Optional Drawing Board or large clipboard (very useful for transporting your artwork)

  • Palette Knife (For mixing)

  • Odorless Mineral Spirit for Oil (Gamsol Is Best) Please no Turpentine!

  • Linseed Oil (optional)

  • Paper Towels or Rags

  • Box for Palette/Wet Painting (Very Useful!)

  • Backpack or Bag We will be walking to the park with our paint supplies, so make sure that you can carry everything you need.

  • Sunscreen, water, scacks

  • Umbrella or rain jacket (Hopfefuly we won’t get rained on in late June, but hey, it’s Portland)

We will be painting at 2 locations Nearby High Low Art Space in Portland in order to accommodate everyone’s transportation needs. The Locations aren’t locked in yet, but Laurelhurst Park, Mt tabor, and Powell Butte are some examples of what I have in mind. The first location will be in walking distance, and the second will be a bit further, so consider making arrangements for transportation if you don’t have a vehicle.

I suggest printing out this page so you can use it as a checklist when packing your supplies.

Here I have listed a few resources if you are unsure about how to organize some of the materials listed above:

https://www.danschultzfineart.com/plein-air-painting-gear-checklist/

https://www.cunninghamfineart.com/blogs/tj-cunninghams-blog/plein-air-painting-supply-list

https://paintandsimple.com/2019/03/26/plein-air-oil-painting-supply-list/

SYLLABUS

Here’s a rough outline of what we’ll be covering!

Day 1

  • Introduction and Material Overview

  • Walk/ Drive to nearby Location in Portland to set up

  • Painting Demo

  • Lunch Break

  • Sketching and Painting

Day 2

  • Meet up at Second Painting Location

  • First Painting, Color Study

  • Lunch Break

  • Final Painting

REFUNDS

Please contact us at least 1 week before class for a full refund. Unfortunately due to our limited class sizes we cannot process refunds after this time. Transfers to other classes are usually possible

It is possible that a class is cancelled if an inadequate number of students register. In this case, tuition will be promptly refunded

absences

Anyone who must miss classes may attend up to two make-up sessions in other classes as long as space permits

Any Questions? Shoot us a message!

Instructor Work