En plein air is the act of painting from life outdoors. Starting really with the impressionist of the late 1800's.

Painting en plein air, for me... is to capture the atmosphere, warms and cools of the sun ,color, the passion of the wind/water/cold/heat and nature and man's inter-reaction. For me, as a color impressionist, my quest is to interpret the color of the sun as it plays and rest upon the plains of the earth. Traditional colors that are considered cool colors, i.e. blue, greens, purples , etc., are the most difficult to translate. How can you paint the hot sun on the blue of the water or the green of the grass by painting them their "local colors"? The answer must be to start with warm colors, and so I do.

Controversy exists on how much of the painting, started outside, may be finished inside.