Definition of Plein Air

En plein air (French pronunciation: (ɑ̃ plɛn‿ɛʁ]) is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.

It's incredible how quickly a scene changes as the sun travels across the sky, or clouds move in. One thing I love about painting en plein air is that there's no time for rumination. Each stroke needs to quickly capture the shape, color and value, of some aspect of your scene.  The term you'll often hear artists use is "chasing the light". It can be exhilarating.