The Value of Painting Plein Air

Sargent's painting of Monet painting 

One of the problems for artists in painting from photographs is that cameras don't deal well with areas of great contrast between bright sunlight and deep shadows. Cameras have a marked tendency to make the shadows look much darker and more solid than they are in reality - hence the value of plein air work for landscape painting. There just is no getting around the subtle nuances that you see when you are in front of your motif. Those subtleties are what we have to rely on to give our paintings their variety and interest… make nature work for you – get outside, observe, and SEE!

Here is a great website with helpful hints for working en plein air. (Click Here)