Plein Air Painting

GabrieleBaberArt

GabrieleBaberArt

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Joined
Oct 15, 2021
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10
Location
Lake St Louis
Hey there, I am a plein air painter and wondering if anyone out there has found an easy efficient hatch tent they like for the Jeep. I need to keep the sun, and rain off me while I am painting. I have a make shift thing with pvc pipes and tarps, but wondering if anyone else has found anything better. It has to be easy up, easy down and not take up much room in the Jeep. I am usually pretty loaded when I do the plein air events. I like to paint out the back of my Jeep whenever possible. If you are interested in my adventures, you can follow along on Facebook, You Tube and Instagram. It’s a crazy life, but lovin every minute of it.

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You might try posting this question in a more Overlanding oriented forum. I've seen some really cool awning systems on some of those rigs.
Also, beautiful work. My Mom was a very talented artist. That gene must skip a generation, as I can't draw a straight line.
But I do have a red Jeep.:cool:
 
twistedlv said:
You might try posting this question in a more Overlanding oriented forum. I've seen some really cool awning systems on some of those rigs.
Also, beautiful work. My Mom was a very talented artist. That gene must skip a generation, as I can't draw a straight line.
But I do have a red Jeep.:cool:
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lol.. I avoid straight lines..never been my thing. Love my red Jeep…. Thinking of getting a Gladiator or the bigger Jeep. Need a bit of towing power.
 
srimes said:
Beautiful! What's with the tennis basket? I play tennis too
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Lol..re; tennis basket. That would be my husband’s. Looks like we were in Sedona. He probably had it in my office, (The back of the Jeep). When I can have a body guard along, (reluctant husband), I get to paint more remotely. Then I am stuck with his “junk”. He was probably sitting somewhere, playing his guitar.
 
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Chris said:
While you are more than welcome here, your Jeep is a JK and this forum is for 1997-2006 TJs. Like I said, you’re more than welcome here but you may find more help on the JK forum:

https://wranglerjkforum.net
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Shoot… I didn’t catch the ‘age thing”. Sorry. I only know that my Jeep goes where I want to paint. I don’t know from JK or anything else. All I know is it’s cool, and after MANY years of wishing, I now can go wandering with my Jeep. I did know There was a J …k, t..that’s a detail…I am not much for details. Must be all the squinting I do to lose the details. Lol.
 
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I had to google search plein air painting- my first reaction was “hey, thats a regular brush, not an air brush”

I never thought of outdoor painting as a category.

My Dad and Uncle did lots if it - they’d start at Sherwin-Williams and then pressure wash the house, caulk everything and go to it.

We have a member, @jscherb , the @ sign notifies him- he is very gifted with designs and products like you are asking about, he will know your best options.

All the best,
AndyG

I once bought some used paint, it was in the shape of a house.
 
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You are funny. Made me laugh.
Plein air is a French term…to pain En Plein Air, is to paint outside. The challenge painting from life besides the obvious elements to struggle with, wind, rain, sun, bugs, snakes, bees, there is the ever changing light due to clouds and movmeant of the sun. That said, then, obviously the painting needs to be completed within a couple hours. After that the artist is just chasing the light.
I mostly like to not wander far from the back of my Jeep. I figure, I can just jump in the back of my car if something spooks me.
and…yes, I have done my share of your kind of plein air, having painted three houses, inside and out, some more than once. Right now..it’s a kitchen redo, which is about to make me crazy. I’d rather be painting with something other than stain and varnish, thank you.
Thanks for the laughs.
 
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GabrieleBaberArt said:
You are funny. Made me laugh.
Plein air is a French term…to pain En Plein Air, is to paint outside. The challenge painting from life besides the obvious elements to struggle with, wind, rain, sun, bugs, snakes, bees, there is the ever changing light due to clouds and movmeant of the sun. That said, then, obviously the painting needs to be completed within a couple hours. After that the artist is just chasing the light.
I mostly like to not wander far from the back of my Jeep. I figure, I can just jump in the back of my car if something spooks me.
and…yes, I have done my share of your kind of plein air, having painted three houses, inside and out, some more than once. Right now..it’s a kitchen redo, which is about to make me crazy. I’d rather be painting with something other than stain and varnish, thank you.
Thanks for the laughs.
Click to expand...
I’m a remodeler- kitchens really have to come together well- so I know what you are saying.

I had an aunt that was a gifted artist- she sculpted a life size Elvis from snow and made the local papers once. She painted from her imagination- ship captains, couples,etc. Sort of amazed me. It was therapeutic for her.

This is a fireplace I did, it was dark dry stack rock, we did a German Schmear, then painted it and built the mantle. The mantle “supports” are actually fake - foam blockes textured with drywall mud.

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AndyG said:
We have a member, @jscherb , the @ sign notifies him- he is very gifted with designs and products like you are asking about, he will know your best options.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the kind words :).

I do have some ideas...

There are lots of awnings in the overlanding world that will meet your needs very nicely but they pretty much all require a roof rack to mount to, which may not be something you want to add to your Jeep.

I subscribe to several Land Rover magazines from the U.K. and last year I came across this item, it's an awning that doesn't require a roof rack:

HoodExtender_zpsoqz09vuo.jpg


The Land Rover "hood" (soft top) has provisions for attaching something like the "extender" shown above, but Jeeps don't, so doing something like this requires a different method of attachment to the Jeep. I came up with a strap system that hooks under the edge of the hardtop (or soft top) so I sewed a prototype using an inexpensive Harbor Freight tarp. A few photos of the prototype:

AwningOnLJ2.jpg


The strap system is visible in the photo above, it works very well to secure the awning to the Jeep top and it's very simple - no changes, hardware or anything needs to be attached to the Jeep top and as I said above, this works fine with a soft top as well.

If you're interested in making one of these yourself, it's not terribly difficult and I'd be happy to provide more info.
 
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jscherb said:
Thanks for the kind words :).

I do have some ideas...

There are lots of awnings in the overlanding world that will meet your needs very nicely but they pretty much all require a roof rack to mount to, which may not be something you want to add to your Jeep.

I subscribe to several Land Rover magazines from the U.K. and last year I came across this item, it's an awning that doesn't require a roof rack:

View attachment 283980

The Land Rover "hood" (soft top) has provisions for attaching something like the "extender" shown above, but Jeeps don't, so doing something like this requires a different method of attachment to the Jeep. I came up with a strap system that hooks under the edge of the hardtop (or soft top) so I sewed a prototype using an inexpensive Harbor Freight tarp. A few photos of the prototype:

View attachment 283981

The strap system is visible in the photo above, it works very well to secure the awning to the Jeep top and it's very simple - no changes, hardware or anything needs to be attached to the Jeep top and as I said above, this works fine with a soft top as well.

If you're interested in making one of these yourself, it's not terribly difficult and I'd be happy to provide more info.
Click to expand...
There you go- it is amazing to see how he grasps all this and gets hands on- I don’t know what you call it but he has it.
 
AndyG said:
I’m a remodeler- kitchens really have to come together well- so I know what you are saying.

I had an aunt that was a gifted artist- she sculpted a life size Elvis from snow and made the local papers once. She painted from her imagination- ship captains, couples,etc. Sort of amazed me. It was therapeutic for her.

This is a fireplace I did, it was dark dry stack rock, we did a German Schmear, then painted it and built the mantle. The mantle “supports” are actually fake - foam blockes textured with drywall mud.

View attachment 283979
Click to expand...
Cool. I like it.
my kitchen… Somoen did a funky, “refresher touch up“ on it. It was weird and my OCD artist brain, just cringed every time I looked at it…so we took the doors off and scuffed sanded them and stained with Oil based Gel /stain. Now we are varnishing with Helmsman varathane. I have done this twice before, and each time, I swear, never again. Out here, varnishing is a challenge to get it in between overcast days and rain storms. It’s taking too long, and I am tired. I have two days now, to get the final two coats on the cabinets.. A few of the doors need a bit of a rework…hoping we are getting to the end, and can get my kitchen back together.
 
GabrieleBaberArt said:
Cool. I like it.
my kitchen… Somoen did a funky, “refresher touch up“ on it. It was weird and my OCD artist brain, just cringed every time I looked at it…so we took the doors off and scuffed sanded them and stained with Oil based Gel /stain. Now we are varnishing with Helmsman varathane. I have done this twice before, and each time, I swear, never again. Out here, varnishing is a challenge to get it in between overcast days and rain storms. It’s taking too long, and I am tired. I have two days now, to get the final two coats on the cabinets.. A few of the doors need a bit of a rework…hoping we are getting to the end, and can get my kitchen back together.
Click to expand...
Don’t rule out the helmsman water based - super fast, hard and forgiving- doesn’t give the slight amber tint but its less of a pain, less smell and dries fast- also driving screws or nails through boards strategically can make for 4 sharp points so you can do the back, set the door on them and then the front. Thumbtacks work too .
 
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