Plein Air Landscape Paints: Green, Green, Greener!

Greens I use for summer plein air paintings.

My first attempts at plein air painting were frustrating, chaotic, and often time characterized by a rather unpleasant feeling like I had no idea what I was doing. So I tried to keep my palette as simple as possible. Funny enough, it did not contain any greens. Mostly because my Sennilier set — my first oil paints — did not have them. Later I decided that having some greens is more convenient than mixing them and, if anything, saves time.

I did not come up with the idea of using these greens myself: it is based on what I read about Russian landscape artists of the 19th century, specifically Ivan Shishkin. The latter one left journals, sketches, and extensive records about what paints he used. Shishkin’s work has been studied and analyzed by conservators.

So, here are my plain air greens: cinnabar green by Rembrandt, terre verte by Daler Rowney, viridian by Gamblin, green umber by Old Holland (sometimes I also add emerald green and chromium oxide green). Cinnabar green and terre verte are two warm greens (light and dark), viridian is cool, and green umber is neutral. As a plein air beginner, I think these colors give me more than enough range for natural greens.