In the shadow of an old wooden cabin on the grounds of Magnolia Mound Plantation, three painters stand behind easels. Their easels hold palettes and wads of paper towels stained with paint, extra brushes and jars of paint thinner. The artists paint in quick but careful strokes to depict the cabin in front of them—capturing the light and color that change moment to moment against the former plantation overseer’s house.
This is painting en plein air, or painting outdoors.
David Gary formed Baton Rouge Plein Air in November 2017. The group meets once a week to paint and critique each other’s canvases. They use social media to plan meetups at a variety of locations around the city.
On this sun-drenched April morning, Gary stands under a tree at the historic plantation. The wind sends ripples through the grass, shaking the white clovers and rustling branches.
“I love the outdoors. I knew if I didn’t start a group and find others with similar, kindred interests, I wouldn’t make myself get out like I need to,” says Gary, who manages a web development firm he started about 20 years ago. “These guys are so encouraging. There are no egos in this group. It’s just, ‘Do you want to paint? Do you want artist camaraderie? Come on.’ All skill levels, all mediums—we don’t care.”
Gary moves his easel as the dappled light moves across the plantation grounds, keeping his canvas in the shadows of the tree. Paint looks different in direct sunlight, he says.
Like Gary, the first plein air painters were mindful of light and shadows. In the mid-1800s, the invention of paint tubes enabled them to leave their studios to work outdoors. French impressionists like Claude Monet championed plein air painting, often creating the same scenes at different times—each meriting its own color palette.
Working outdoors drew local painters like Andrea Phillips to join Baton Rouge Plein Air.
“I haven’t always painted outside—mostly in the studio—but something about painting out here is the most relaxing thing,” she says. “You always finish in the studio, but you remember a lot from here, and it really makes a difference.”
Though Dana Mosby also belongs to Associated Women in the Arts, another group that paints both outdoors and in the studio, joining Baton Rouge Plein Air has brought her to new settings.
“So many places around Baton Rouge have such beautiful color. Last week, we painted on the levee … We have painted at Spanish Town quite a few times,” she says.
At noon, the artists prop their canvases on a picnic table under the trees at Magnolia Mound for a critique. Each explains the perspective and process of his or her work.
It’s Gary’s turn. He shifts his painting so the sunlight illuminates it. Others offer encouragement and suggest where he can add highlights.
It’s a moment that encapsulates what the group is about—artist camaraderie and, of course, that fleeting natural light. Find Baton Rouge Plein Air on Facebook.
This article was originally published in the June 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.
David Gary formed Baton Rouge Plein Air in November 2017. The group meets once a week to paint and critique each other’s canvases. They use social media to plan meetups at a variety of locations around the city.
