PLEIN AIR PAINTING DURING A PANDEMIC

Plein air painting during a pandemic has its challenges. However, there is one main difference. Plein air painters create and produce work outdoors. But when it comes to life-threatening conditions like the Coronavirus, human psychology, behavior, and a feeling of isolation is universal. Keeping motivated when surrounded by pessimism and negativity becomes a challenge for all of us.

Help Finding Motivation

Motivation slowly deteriorates when gloom-ridden elements come to us at a relentless pace. I improve my behavioral health by replacing negative thoughts with positive behaviors for relief. I know this is easy to say and sometimes extremely hard to do. But with the help of others, it is much easier.

Here is the most effective defense strategy that helps stimulate motivation and balance my behavior health. I design a plan and make sure the list includes a sense of accountability. I set a goal for a specific purpose, such as producing more paintings. And I try to add social support. It is always best to include others.

Join Forces and Make a Plan

I joined forces and made a plan with two painting buddies. We first painted a seascape in Montana de Oro several months ago. Two months later, we are still painting together. We increased our social networking, improved production, became accountable to a committed plan, and motivation improves.

Continue Taking Preventive Measures

After putting our plan in place, we needed to continue taking preventive measures. We make sure we wear masks and practice social distancing at all times. Although things are different now under COVID 19, we find there are few inconveniences.

Conclusion – People Need People

In conclusion, Plein air painting during a pandemic with close friends’ support helps combat the feeling of loneliness and isolation. There is something unique and special about people needing people. I use to ask myself if I could have all the material things I wanted without another soul on earth, would I be happy? Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill expressed the need for social interaction perfectly when they wrote the Broadway score titled People. “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”

Read on if you need help finding a landscape scene to paint.

What are your pandemic-era plein air painting experiences? Please share in comments; I’d love to hear from you!