Going Plein Air

For many years, my creative process took place exclusively in the privacy of my personal studio, in fairly controlled conditions and within a well-chosen time frame. With a large window, an ergonomic chair, an interesting podcast to enjoy and all the materials at hand, I grew as an artist, I managed to get to know myself better and develop a style that resonated with my soul.

When doing studio work, I always look at the white canvas somehow with impatience and excitement. Outside, in nature, it can easily become overwhelming.

In this picture I was doing a plein air sketch at the Razelm lake and besides the cold and unfriendly November weather, there were fishermen doing their work and constantly moving the boats. And if this wasn’t already complicated, the shore was wet and muddy, forcing me to paint in a standing position, which is never my favorite choice.

But there was always something else going on inside of me... You see, my artistic personality needed more to be able to fully manifest itself.

Nature has been a constant in my life for as long as I know myself, as has art. But how would it be if I’ll bring them together, from time to time? Maybe they don't even exist separately...

“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” R. M. Rilke

The idea of combining outdoor trips with painting came naturally and defined me as an artist.

The feeling I had the first time when I took a few tubes of paint and went out into nature with the idea of trying a small oil sketch stuck in my mind ever since and probably for the rest of my life. I chose to go to a little piece of Heaven in the beautiful Dobrogea region, close to the Romanian Black Sea coast.

It doesn't even matter if my sketch came out well or not, because the experience itself was amazing and it probably changed the entire course of my artistic journey. It felt as if I was both an experienced artist and a beginner, at the same time. It may sound strange, but that's how I perceived myself.

And yes, nature is tough. With every gust of wind hitting your face, with every speck of dust that threatens your canvas and thousands of insects always reminding you are just an intruder into their world, with all this and even more, you become more and more aware of the toughness and mightiness of nature.

But oh, so much perfection! How could you ever resist it?

Untouched places, kept in perfect balance, make you feel privileged that you were chosen to paint their beauty.

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” Vincent van Gogh

Plein air painting is the most difficult and at the same time the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Or at least I tried.

From those wonderful and fluffy clouds that appear and disappear in an instant and the never-ending dance of shadows and lights, to the multitude of subjects and sources of inspiration that make every choice nearly impossible and time passing far too quickly , everything is a challenge and a true adventure.

Here, I remember rain started exactly when I was painting the most amazing sky with grey and purple, stormy colors, full of clouds. Suddenly, I had to stop and find some shelter for my canvas and tools.

Later, the sun was shining again and all those colors and clouds were completely gone… but that’s ok, I had such a great time!

And yes, the attempts are much more numerous than the successes, but the outdoor painting experience teaches you so much about yourself, about art, about nature. Because in nature, when you completely lose yourself and give your best, in the shortest possible time, you transform. And every time this happens, a slightly different artist returns to the studio; always a better version of yourself.

Failure doesn’t exist, it is a construct of the human mind- the first and most important lesson I learned trying to paint plein air.

When doing studio work, I always look at the white canvas somehow with impatience and excitement. Outside, in nature, it can easily become overwhelming. But this forces you to simplify, to try not to get lost into details and push the process and your own limits more and more.

And all of this is so worth it, because you end up painting sensations and not shapes. Emotions, not colors.

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them!” Henri Matisse

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