Painting On Location in the Great Outdoors
Featuring paintings by
Carl Bretzke, Michelle Held, and Garry Kravit
A quick primer: en plein air is French for “outdoors,” and in the art world, it’s the practice of painting a landscape live on location rather than in the studio from photographs or memory.
It’s been around for a few centuries, but really became popular in the mid-nineteenth century with the advent of tube oil paints and portable easels with built-in paint boxes. French Impressionists such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro especially took to this lighter, brighter, freer form of painting. So did Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. The resulting works were quicker, with more spontaneity and natural lighting. Artists often organized group outings to paint en plein air.
By the mid-twentieth century, it had also caught on with Americans such as the Hudson River School, as well as Canadian, Russian, and Australian artists.
It was initially considered somewhat radical, breaking from the heavier, more time-consuming classical methods of oil painting, but has since become accepted artistic practice.
Plein air painting enjoyed another wave of popularity during the Covid pandemic as artists sought ways to paint portraits safely without masks, and of course to leave the quarantined confines of their studios.
Today it is still a thriving artform with many organizations sponsoring plein air classes, excursions, and conferences all over the world. Most of them welcome painters of all backgrounds and skill levels.
These three painters chose to share their work and painting approach with us.
CARL BRETZKE
I usually describe my work as realism bordering on impressionism, and I balance plein air work with studio work as I strongly believe that they both inform the other. A major focus is capturing an interesting light effect. In a plein air situation, this often means I start with a monochrome underpainting to freeze a light effect and to accurately reflect atmospheric perspective as it relates to receding values. Next I add color in corresponding values while paying attention to prismatic gradations and color harmony. My work and biography, including gallery representation, videos, and workshops, can be found at carlbretzke.com.
Carl Bretzke
12×24”oil on linen
Carl Bretzke
16×20”oil on linen
MICHELLE HELD
Having an art career for over thirty-five years, I have spent the last ten as a wildlife artist and plein air painter. My work goes beyond merely recording the landscape. I strive to evoke emotion and connection through every painting. Infused with poetry, my paintings capture the essence of a place rather than its exact details, inviting viewers to experience the rhythm of nature rather than just see it. My passion for the environment and wildlife awareness drives my creative process, blending art and storytelling to inspire a deeper appreciation for the natural world. For more, visit artbymichelleheld.com.
Michelle Held
Michelle Held
Michelle Held
GARRY KRAVIT
Flying widebody airliners to pay for canvas, brushes, and color. Garry is an artist and commercial airline pilot. When he’s not in the studio or working en plein air, you can find him at the controls of a Boeing 777 jumbo jet flying for United Airlines.
His love of painting came about late in life when in 2009 his pal, satire novelist Christopher Moore, who was working on a novel about the Impressionists, handed Garry a paint brush and said, “Dude, paint.” Garry said, “Okay.” The rest is history. He’s studied with some of America’s living masters, including Carl Bretzke, Todd Casey, Mark Dalessio, Natalie Featherston, Michelle Held, David Kassan, Shana Levinson, Joseph McGurl, Joe Paquette, and Daniel Sprick.
Garry loves painting both in the studio and outdoors, capturing the essence of what he sees, hears, and feels. He said, “It can be hard, but the process is meditative, and I love losing myself in it.” He feels incredibly fortunate to be able to enjoy two of his passions professionally: flying and painting, often on the same trip. You can view more of his work at GarryKravit.com.
Garry also created and manufactures the world’s lightest full-size plein air easel, Aero-Trek, and builds artist vertical palettes and taboret workstations. GarryKravitFineArtProducts.com.
A graduate of the University of Florida with a B.S. in psychology, Garry also studied creative writing in the MFA program at Florida International University. He currently lives near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and in the Western mountains of North Carolina with his wife, Karen, and Midge Anne, Priscilla Jean, and Rowena Mae, their kitties.
Garry Kravit
Garry Kravit
Garry Kravit
Garry painted Old Rosie on the Couse-Sharp Historical Site near Taos. Artist Eanger Irving Couse’s son Kibbey designed the truck to service planes at remote airstrips in World War II. So, fittingly, this spans aviation and art. This painting was recently chosen to hang in their museum.
“Our largest acquisition to date is a vehicle nicknamed Rosie—the last Couse Mobile Machine Shop Aviation Model in existence, to the best of our knowledge. Rosie was in continuous use since at least 1945 and was bought from her second private owner after the military. The acquisition and exhibition of this vehicle represents a huge step forward as we interpret the ‘Kibbey story’ and highlight its historical importance.” –Couse-Sharp.org