Painting "plein aire", French for "open air", is a practice that began in the mid 19th century with the invention of the collapsible paint tube. See how creating small studies directly from your subject informs my process of making art. I'll begin with a white panel and demonstrate the development of a quick color block in that can be refined into a finished painting.  I began painting plein air along the Delaware River and Canal in Bucks County 40 years ago. My first feeble attempts were utter calamities, but I kept at it and the practice informs my current working process. Technology and new equipment have made getting out in the field easier, but painting from nature always presents new and interesting challenges.