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Sun, water, boats, jet skis, plein air painting, all the reasons summer is my favorite season. I love soaking up a heavy dose of vitamin D and inspiration. Could all this play be considered work?

Certainly! When my creative juices need charging, those elements of play are the antidote for artist block. We artists are always talking about painting the light. Summer is full of sunlight. We want our work to have life. Summer is bursting with life.

How to make summer play a fun summer job?

• Pack a stash of panels and plein air gear. My packing priority is “How many panels and how much paint will I need to take?”
• Go to a summer fun place: ocean, lake, mountain retreat, or special summer event. Don’t get too distracted by any activity other than painting what you see. Yes, enjoy that homemade ice cream or the boat ride, but don’t forget to see everything as a subject for paint.
• Don’t trust the camera to record the scenery for you. (Use the camera only as a note taker, quick shots of details to remind you of what you saw with your eyes.)
• Compose, sketch, and paint as much as possible while soaking in the delights of the season.
• Tackle something new or something challenging so you are stretched.
• Don’t give up half-way. In every plein air painting I do, I seem to hit a scary point where the painting looks ugly and impossible to finish. But more times than not, if I push on and observe more carefully, I come away with a reasonably successful painting, either as a good notation of color and value, or as a pleasing composition. And painting failures are learning opportunities.
• When you return to the studio, study your work objectively. Use your plein air pieces and photos while they are fresh in your mind to paint at a slower, more deliberate pace in the studio.

I had a few weeks of back-to-back summer adventures and since my return to the studio, I feel like I brought some of the sunlight and water back with me. In my head, I can still see and feel sea gulls, egrets, and clouds in motion. The activity of an old farm show is more vivid to me because I took time to paint there. I can barely keep up with the ideas that need painting and I want to squeeze every opportunity out of summer that I can.

Summer work is summer play with an artist’s attitude.