Beast of Burden?

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
- Albert Einstein

Painting on location has never been easier. The array of tools and equipment available to the plein air painter is diverse and growing, whether one works in watercolor, pastel, acrylic and/or oil. Pochade boxes, backpacking easels and lightweight tripods all can enhance the experience by providing an almost fully equipped mini-studio on site. We own four or five different plein air easels, tripods, umbrellas, etc., and find them very useful. But, hauling a lot of gear around can make one start to feel like a beast of burden instead of a free-roaming artist.

When that burdened feeling takes hold, we put our heavy equipment aside and attempt to simply experience the landscape and the changing light. There is a wonderful freedom to be gained by just taking a walk with minimal gear. We don’t feel as though we are obliged to find something…