How do you make painting more efficient?

With the weather the recently improving, I have started to think about working (more specifically painting – I already do most of my photography) outside; I have always fancied being a plein air painter. When I was a teenager I used to do a lot more drawing and painting outside than I do now, particularly watercolours, and I have started to wonder if I should not take this media up again.

My work on landscapes, both the photography and the models has made me think that I should also spend more time drawing and painting landscapes so as to better understand the structure and the shapes of the land. I have been enjoying using pen and ink in my illustrations of moons and craters for my ‘landscape generator’ project and watercolour is a similar media. I do struggle with the lightness of touch required in watercolour painting but this should improve with practice and so in this sense there should be no excuse for not getting out and making a start.

One of the problems I have though with plein air is the amount of time taken up by the activity, not just the actual time painting but the getting to the location and the preparation of your equipment beforehand. Don’t get me wrong I think that it is a perfect activity: painting, walking, fresh air, beautiful scenery what’s there not to like? However, both my family and college are keen to make my art economically viable and I worry that disappearing off for the whole day to paint is a risky economic activity; but then we are told that we should not think like this about art. I guess it might be alright if you can complete several paintings whist out or if you can somehow speed the process up? It was with this in mind that I had a brain-wave, what if I combined my painting with my exercise, that way I’ll be doing two useful activities at once and if I run to or from my painting location then I will speed the activity up.

A couple of days after having this idea I packed a small rucksack with paints, brushes, pens, pencils, ink and paper and set off up the hill above our house with the intension of finding a spot to paint!

Ultimately the experiment was reasonably successful; I briskly walked up the hill, so as not to get too sweaty and out of breath before I began. I found a good spot beside the road and started work. I got a couple of images completed and then ran back. The only issue was that I was still gone for a good two hours, although I only saw one car on the road the whole time I was out and at the end of the day you can’t put a price on that, or on art it would seem!