Plein Air Art Podcast · PleinAir Magazine

Rich Gallego on Close Calls and More

March 3, 2023·1 hr 14 min·1 clip

The gift of painting is that you get to see the world the way artists see it. That changes everything about how you experience life.

Rich Gallego recounts his journey from self-taught artist to internationally respected plein air painter. Starting in a sculpture studio as a teenager, then encouraged by his wife to try outdoor painting, Rich experienced a transformative moment during his first plein air session at Malibu Creek State Park. Over 25+ years, he developed philosophy around observational painting: it's not about rendering photorealism, but about extracting the essence of a scene and controlling viewer focus through deliberate detail distribution. Rich emphasizes that plein air teaches seeing—a skill that transfers to all decision-making. The complete sensory experience of painting outdoors (sight, sound, smell, proprioception) fundamentally differs from studio or photo-based painting. He discusses the difference between 'simple' (edited, essential) and 'simplistic' (unedited, confusing). His gift, he argues, is seeing the world differently than most people—an ability gained purely through dedicated practice.

As heard by us

A warm, technique-first conversation about learning to paint from the shoulder.

Eric Rhodes starts with a bit of housekeeping about Valentine's Day and spring in Texas, then the episode gets to the useful part: Rich Gallego's advice on drawing from the shoulder instead of the wrist.

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Why you'd press play

You want practical advice on painting from the shoulder, not the wrist.

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