Plein Air Art Podcast · PleinAir Magazine

How Jennifer McChristian's Military Background Influences Her Art, and more

·1 hr 8 min·4 clips

Jennifer McChristian says loose painting comes from “mileage,” not a single trick or shortcut.

1. Plein Air Art Podcast Episode 252 centers on Jennifer McChristian, a plein air painter whose work and habits are discussed in detail by Eric Rhodes. 2. Eric Rhodes is the host, publisher and founder of Plein Air Magazine, and Jennifer McChristian is the guest because she won the plein air salon grand prize and appeared on the magazine cover. 3. The episode asks how Jennifer’s military background, travel, and cross-training in drawing and sculpting shape the way she paints outdoors. 4. Jennifer says she has been doing a live-model finger drawing session out of her studio three times a week since 2000. 5. She explains that the three-hour figure sessions build shape, form, value, proportions, camaraderie, and social interaction. 6. Jennifer describes sculpting with water-based clay after seeing sculptors on Instagram and watching YouTube tutorials for simple animals and heads. 7. She says sculpting helps when “the well is run dry,” because it feels meditative, therapeutic, and good for the hands. 8. Jennifer says gouache is easier to travel with than oils because it avoids TSA issues, dries the same day, and is less cumbersome. 9. She notes that gouache requires different timing than oils because it dries faster and some colors dry lighter than others. 10. Jennifer says her first Europe trip to Paris in 2011 felt “mind-blowing and surreal,” and it led to more travel. 11. She names Rome, South Africa, and China as places that expanded her use of color, texture, and architecture. 12. She says plein air painting hooked her after taking classes with Barbara Blue and Carl Denpul and reading Kevin McPherson’s first plein air book. 13. Jennifer links plein air to a lifelong love of the outdoors and says painting outside gives her a feeling of blessing. 14. Eric mentions that the plein air convention in Denver drew about 30% of attendees under 40, which he sees as a positive sign for the movement. 15. Jennifer says her military background makes her organized, so she keeps an itinerary and a repeated studio routine. 16. She says changing things up with travel, sculpting, figure skating, reading, and new subjects helps her avoid feeling stuck. 17. Jennifer says teaching workshops refreshes what she already knows, while student paintings help her spot mistakes in her own work. 18. The conversation is interview-driven, conversational, and full of specific examples from museums, workshops, and studio practice. 19. Painters interested in plein air, figure drawing, and travel study would get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting abstract art theory without practical studio details may skip it.

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