Posted on Aug 8, 2009 in Methods
I’ve always been a little confused by the mystique attached to painting outdoors. If you paint nature from observation, of course you have to go outside to do it, unless you have a very good window, but is it more romantic if we do it in French (en plein air)?
![](https://debrayoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/brushholder.jpg)
In any case, often people new to it overload themselves with stuff, or could use some help about useful things to bring along. My keywords for painting outdoors are: cheap, lightweight, and time-saving. Hopefully some of my ideas will lead you to come up with solutions of your own. I made a brush holder (or
conteneur des pinceaux :)) from a Moravian cookie container, string, and lots of tape. It hangs from the wing nut on the side of my French easel and ties to the leg. I also put some self-adhesive Velcro (invented by a French person, not to mention the easel) on it and on the leg to make it a little more steady. It’s been working well for years, cost almost nothing, and I really enjoyed the Moravian cookies. The elegant paper towel device is a binder clip from Staples; I carry of lot of these in various sizes because they are so useful. Today we made a makeshift hat for my painting friend who had forgotten hers by using binder clips to clip a piece of cardboard to her hair.