Small Works and "Plein Air"

SMALL WORKS OFTEN CARRY an immediacy and painterlyness that larger studio paintings do not. For the landscape painter they are frequently done outdoors, directly from nature where they can take their foundation lesson in color and synthesis.

But a small work may simply be a smaller exploration done indoors, as preparation for a larger work, or as a stand-alone painting.

"Plein air" is a french term ("open air) coined in the late 19th century when artists first began to use the outdoors as their studio. As they are typically executed in one session, they are often very small. But what they lack in size, they make up for in expressiveness. They are often the artist's most spontaneous and fluid expression.