[Guest Post] Rediscovering en Plein Air Painting by Allison E. '27

This post is written by the wonderful Elisa X. ’26 / MEng ’26!

Since I started college, my go-to fun fact when introducing myself is that I enjoy painting & drawing. As the semesters passed at MIT, this fun fact started feeling disingenuous as I strayed further and further away from this hobby. Now as I am starting my fourth year at MIT as a dual senior and MEng student,⁠01 Essentially, I am starting my MEng in EECS while completing a few leftover undergrad requirements. I still plan to graduate with my undergrad degree with the rest of my class in Spring 2026 then with my MEng in Fall 2026. only my closest friends really knew I painted in the past, mostly due to the occasional random conversation about art. In fact, funnily enough, I didn’t know my entire friend group had their own side interests in art (digital art, comic design, watercolor, sculpture, etc.) until over a year after we first met.

At MIT, my aim was to maximize my experience. I told myself to expand my horizons and get out of my comfort zone. Over the past three years at MIT, I chased all sorts of side adventures, determined to make the most of my time: co-hosting a radio program, teaching biology in Italy, organizing logistics for MIT Science Olympiad, sailing on the Charles, and even helping a friend with an early-stage startup.⁠02 Crazily, he later dropped out, and his re-imagined startup just raised Series A! Along the way, I formed core memories too, like spontaneously road-tripping to Vermont for a total solar eclipse⁠03 The Great North American Eclipse on April 8th, 2024! and attending the world figure skating championships in Boston.

While I do not regret doing any of this exploration, in the midst of all these new experiences, I side-tracked away from that comfort zone I once had. The most I did to reconnect with my artistic side was a half-semester Chinese calligraphy course I crammed into my schedule last semester. Ironically, despite my busy workload then, it was one of the classes I dedicated the most time to (due to how relaxing and fun it was), and my skills improved exponentially.

My First Voyage into en Plein Air Painting

I am very fortunate to have taken numerous art classes growing up with supportive teachers who nurtured my budding skills. Although I learned how to use most 2-D art mediums, my favorite was always paints, particularly acrylic due to its versatility in layering and fast drying time. During the beginning of the pandemic in my sophomore year of high school, I would frequently get bored lying around the house all day—so I started taking my full acrylic setup outdoors to paint en plein air,⁠04 <em>En plein air</em>, or the practice of creating art outdoors, was popularized by the 19th century impressionists like Claude Monet due to the new widespread availability of portable oil paint tubes. or in open air in French.

Afternoon along the Chattahoochee River. Acrylic on canvas, 2020.

Site of one of my first en plein air paintings along the Chattahoochee River near my home in GA.

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The process of en plein air was quite different from how I approached crafting art pieces in the studio. For these artworks, I would thoroughly plan a compelling narrative along with the composition and colors—then spend dozens of hours refining even the smallest details. For my first few en plein air paintings, I strived to convey the scene perfectly, unable to finish the piece in one sitting. Eventually, with more and more practice, I learned to let go and just capture the essence of the moment.

How I Rediscovered en Plein Air Painting

After years of limited painting, the hardest part was accumulating the activation energy to get started again. Thanks to my summer internship, I finally had something that was quite foreign to an MIT student during the school year: work-life balance. Suddenly, I had so much extra time that I didn’t know what to do with it. I started off mindlessly scrolling on my phone then decided I wanted to do something more meaningful with my time, particularly away from the screen. My CS internship already involved me staring at a screen for hours on end. So on a random evening after work in August, I spontaneously busted out my old watercolor kit from layers of packed storage bags and wandered to the Charles River along Harvard to paint the sunset from life.

Sunset over the Charles
Watercolor, gouache & pen on paper, 2025

En plein air painting was such a stark contrast from my MIT experience. At MIT, I was always in a rush; I self-identify as a meticulous planner, trying to anticipate my next steps months and even years in advance.

With en plein air painting, I couldn’t anticipate my next stroke, let alone predict what the final piece would look like. My only goal was conveying the moment with no concern for precise detail and composition. I simply trusted the process. If it doesn’t work out, no big deal; I’d learn from the experience and move on.

Reflections from my Summer Painting Journey

I set a couple firm rules for myself: 1) no future corrections and 2) no use of tools (e.g. rulers) to capture meticulous detail. As I started, I realized that I never lost any of my past painting skills. Of course, there were some glaring flaws. My initial paintings lacked spatial depth. Also, my colors were slightly inaccurate and the composition somewhat jagged. But I didn’t worry too much about those imperfections, it’s about being in the moment, not chasing perfection. If anything, there’s beauty in imperfections.

This time, I used watercolor (with a touch of white gouache for opacity) instead of my preferred medium of acrylics. Watercolor was the only option I had on hand, which is also much more portable than the full acrylic setup I had back home. Despite watercolor’s beginner-friendly reputation, I believe it’s the hardest painting medium to control. Acrylics allow me to add the smallest details by building up layer after layer, but due to its transparency and slower drying time, watercolor is more stubborn: endless layering, especially on wet paper, can cause colors to look quite muddy.⁠05 A lesson I unfortunately learned the hard way in the past…

As I painted more this summer, I realized that I am a different artist from my younger self. It’s interesting, given how long of a break I took from painting, but I suppose the ways I’ve grown at MIT unconsciously diffused into my artistic approach. I’m more impatient now but also more relaxed and free. Instead of agonizing over every small detail, I tend to use simpler, more decisive brushstrokes.

Pond View at Boston Public Garden. Watercolor & goache on paper, 2025.

Hall's Pond Sanctuary Garden near Brookline. Watercolor & gouache on paper, 2025.

Charles River Esplanade. Watercolor & gouache on paper, 2025.

Sunset across the Bridge from Harvard. Watercolor & gouache on paper, 2025.

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Each day I painted, I picked a random location around Boston/Cambridge, typically opting for a somewhat secluded spot with a bench (my basic setup didn’t include an easel so I un-optimally painted on my lap which unfortunately is quite bad for my back). As I painted each scene, I focused on conveying the true colors of a scene that a photograph couldn’t fully capture. Each location had its own challenges from the rapidly changing scene of the fleeting sunset to the textures in the sprawling branches and leaves of the willow tree. I remember each session vividly: the rabbits that occasionally spawned tranquilly eating grass at the Hall’s Pond Sanctuary garden and the sounds of chirping cicadas as the sun quickly set near Harvard.

My process of painting the iconic MIT dome

MIT Dome at Killian Court. Watercolor & gouache on paper, 2025.

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For one of my latest pieces, I decided to challenge myself by painting the iconic MIT dome with a limited color palette. My limited palette consisted of yellow ochre, alizarin crimson, Prussian blue, and titanium white.⁠06 Disclaimer: I do admit that I painted the sky cerulean blue before committing to the limited palette. I used a mixture of gouache and watercolor paints, but the addition of white gouache (essentially opaque watercolor) made all the paints act more opaquely. With this palette, I had to be creative with color mixing, careful not to go overboard and create piles of brown mush. And without a ruler, I had to be confident with my linework. Above, I show my full process over the course of approximately 3 hours from drawing a rough sketch, blocking in colors with a large flat brush, adding shadows and contrast with a round brush, then finishing off details with an even smaller round brush.⁠07 I only started adding white gouache during this step.

The lines were somewhat tilted, and the shadows weren’t perfect as they did shift significantly as the hours passed by, but I’m quite happy with how I conveyed the iconic scene, especially with its cohesive colors. Ultimately, I felt successful in capturing the feeling of standing in front of the MIT dome, a shared and universal experience for all MIT students.

Recommendations for First-Time en Plein Air Artists

First, don’t think too much about it and just go for it! Even just having a pencil and paper is perfectly enough for starting out.

However, if you want a full painting starter kit, I recommend having

• Watercolor kit⁠08 Honestly, even your basic watercolor kit is fine if these are not very affordable. I used a cheap, kid-friendly kit from my local supermarket for the longest time when I first started learning watercolor.
  • Student: Winsor & Newton Cotman 12 half-pan kit
  • Professional: Winsor & Newton 12 half-pan field pocket kit
• 1 tube white gouache⁠09 I personally use Utrecht Designer Titanium White, mostly because it was the most cost-effective option at my local art store.
• Brushes (at least one ½-5/8 in flat brush and 1 round brush)⁠10 I typically use cheaper brushes and change them out frequently instead of investing in expensive ones.
• Portable water container
• Sketchbook⁠11 I currently use a 5 x 8 in 140 lb watercolor journal by Pentalic but started with the cheaper 5.5 x 8.5 in 140 lb watercolor pad by Strathmore. The heavier weight means that the paper is sturdier and more resilient to warping when wet.
• Many, many paper towels
• Optional: water squeeze bottle, additional palette, watercolor pencils

My en Plein Air art materials

Behind the scenes of painting the MIT dome

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I also love learning from other artists like James Gurney who originally taught me what en plein air even is. I learned so much from James Gurney about conveying light and color both through his videos and also his amazing book about the subject. Also, here’s a very comprehensive blog post he wrote about supplies for en plein air painting. Other artists that inspire me include Studio Ghibli background artists like Kazuo Oga and Yoichi Nishikawa as well as famous en plein air oil painters like John Singer Sargent and of course, Claude Monet himself.

The same advice applies for learning an instrument and really, with most things in life: practice, practice, practice. It’s the only concrete path for improvement. If you choose to give en plein air art a try or explore another creative outlet, I hope you have fun with it, enjoy the moment, and maybe even discover something new about yourself along the way!

After this summer, I finally feel fully myself again—reconnected with my artistic side and no longer hesitant to call myself an artist. I learned that I never truly lost this part of me; even during my break, it quietly grew alongside me, patiently waiting for my return.