The winter season is approaching, and Americans are gearing up to face it with warm boots, tidy fireplaces, and thermostats. Due to the impact of La Nina, most of the southern half of the country is expected to witness a drier and milder climate.
However, the areas already notorious for snowy conditions, like the Great Lakes, will be stacked with snow. Other regions like Europe may witness colder winters due to the looming La Nina.
In short, this season can be a plein-air artist’s paradise. Even those who are advanced in age like to capture winter landscapes by traveling. Some may choose to paint views from their hotel balconies, much like Gustave Caillebotte’s View of Rooftops.
Others dive right into their art inspiration, such as Vincent Van Gogh’s Landscape with Snow or Claude Monet’s Train in the Snow. Are you also planning to venture out in search of a winter muse?
Then, there are some things to keep in mind, especially as a senior plein-air artist. In this article, we will discuss three important tips to seize a piece of everyday winter life.
The Winter Muse and the Age-Defying Artist
If one were to ask an artist, particularly one who has been in the field for decades, about winter inspiration, they would not find a single answer. After all, what is there not to love about the glory of snow-clad mountains, trees, or even regular streets?
Once the white snow covers the landscape, almost anything can become good enough to replicate on a canvas. An artist may even discover joy in painting the ‘stillness of winter’ that includes a small freezing creek with cedars or spruce lining it.
The golden light escaping from the largely grey skies onto the frozen waters would glisten like a pearl. It can be almost irresistible to capture those contrasting hues and accentuated values. Such little joys of life keep the artist young in their spirit.
Moreover, age-defying artists are attracted to a solitary winter scene. It could be something as basic as a stark leafless tree positioned behind a solitary park bench, both contrasting against a uniformly white background. This only sounds basic.
For an artist, no photograph (no matter how expertly clicked) can compare to the energy and sense of place that plein-air painting offers. Once the masterpiece is complete, it generally tends to invite awe and wonder about how a basic scene could become hauntingly beautiful.
3 Tips to Get Winter Plein-Air Painting Right
Do you also have an Impressionist’s blood flowing in your veins? This art movement
completed its 150 years in 2024.
We understand the all-consuming urge to arrest the fleeting light and modern pace of life onto your canvas. Whether it's that or you crave a more serene winter muse, the tips mentioned below will help.
Address Your Health Concerns
This point is especially important for our senior plein-air artists who are planning to travel far and wide in search of inspiration this winter. In general, winter brings with it several health risks, primarily for older adults. However, here we are referring to existing conditions you may be aware of.
If you're traveling by air, ensure you’ve had a full-body checkup first. Some conditions can pose serious problems when enjoying a winter tour, let alone painting quick travel scenes along the way. Let's take a common example of stress urinary incontinence.
Johns Hopkins Medicine shares that more than 25 million American adults suffer from an overactive bladder. Symptoms of this condition include urine leakage, constant sensation of wanting to pee, and a feeling of incomplete bladder emptying.
This condition tends to get worse during the winter due to increased bladder muscle contractions and reduced sweating. Furthermore, women may experience incontinence more often than men, especially after menopause.
It is important to address it so that one’s art travel experience is stress-free. One way this condition is treated is by using a vaginal mesh. This net-like tool is surgically implanted to support the bladder muscles. The device effectively supports the urethra and prevents urine leakage caused by sneezing or coughing.
However, it has been linked to various injuries. According to TorHoerman Law, the mesh has a design flaw that may cause it to erode through the vaginal wall. This can lead to injuries like pain, discomfort, infection, or organ perforation.
Victims have had to go as far as filing a
vaginal mesh lawsuit against manufacturers like C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific, and American Medical Systems. Since the tool has not been recalled for urinary incontinence, it's best to stick with alternatives like medication, pelvic floor exercises, bladder training, or neuromodulation.
Stanford Medicine-led research even found low-impact yoga to help manage urinary incontinence among older women. Another common concern among seniors during winter is joint stiffness or arthritis. As per Statista, around 48% of older adults (aged 65 and above) had been diagnosed with arthritis in 2022.
Besides keeping warm, senior artists with this condition must carry required medicines, assistive devices, and heating pads for a safe and comfortable travel experience.
Take Extra Care of Your Supplies
The winter cold does not just affect the artist but also their supplies. This is another challenge you must overcome before starting with plein-air painting. Some paints are more prone to being affected by the climate than others.
For instance, watercolors can quickly turn into slush on the metal palette in sub-freezing temperatures. Just imagine this - you're excited to paint a riveting winter scene that seems to be turning exactly as you pictured it. By the end of it, the watercolors froze, and your artwork became a sheet of ice.
What would you do next? It is a painful dilemma because sitting by a fireplace and sipping hot cocoa would only melt the paint and drop down the canvas. Even that could create some unexpectedly cool effects, but most certainly not the ones you were hoping for.
We’re sure you’ve heard this before, but as a reminder, do not go plein-air on days with below-freezing temperatures. Even then, keep your watercolor paints from freezing with the help of vodka. The ratio would be one part vodka and five parts water to keep the pigment from freezing.
If possible, ditch watercolors altogether and carry cold-friendly acrylic paints. Another issue is the wind, which can easily knock down your easel. If the force of the wind is too strong, it is best to retire to a safer spot, perhaps your car or a cafe.
Finally, be prepared to experience some increased moisture on the canvas. Even the drying time will be longer, so make arrangements to store your artwork properly for a nice finish.
Be Prepared for the Elements
As beautiful as the winter snow is, it will certainly bring its challenges in the form of extreme cold, wind, frost, and whatnot. You need to stay ready to face the elements.
This includes keeping yourself as well as your paints cozy. For instance, wear heavy coats or jackets if the weather demands. Dress in layers for extra protection.
The different layers prevent frostbite because each layer traps air in between. The trapped air acts as an effective insulator. Your base layers should be made of moisture-wicking materials that draw sweat and keep you dry.
Underneath that, you can wear an insulating layer like fleece that traps heat. The protective outer shell can include heavy coats, jackets, snow boots, and fingerless gloves. Depending on the day’s temperature, you can add or remove layers.
Likewise, you must prepare your paints to battle the cold weather. For oil paints, you may need to add more medium to maintain a normal flow. It may be more beneficial to stick to a limited color palette of blues, yellows, and greens.
Also, try to squeeze out less paint at a time to ensure colors stay warmer for longer periods. Wait for the sun to be out before starting your plein-air day. Keep in touch with the weather forecast to get an idea of what the day might bring.
We hope this article has fanned the flicker of winter plein-air enthusiasm into an intense flame. This trip can become an exciting means to share your perspective of the world, engage all your senses, and make new artist friends.
So, are your art supplies packed yet? Capture breathtaking winter landscapes and immerse yourself in all-white glory.
