Mal einfach draußen!
(which means: Just paint outside!)
The first book with practical instructions for plein air painting in German.
I have written a book about my plein air painting. It’s actually the first practical book about plein air painting in German – at least I haven’t found another one in German yet.
For those who would like to have the book translated: You can purchase the e-book as a PDF and then translate it using a PDF translator.
Or you can buy the printed version, translate it using your smartphone’s photo app, and enjoy 240 pages full of pictures.
In this book I have summarized everything I know about outdoor painting documented with an amount of paintings and pictures.
Who is the book for?
This book is for anyone who would like to paint outdoors but, for a variety of reasons, has not yet done so and needs a nudge. And for those who are already doing it, perhaps still have questions, want to go deeper – or just want to see how others do it. If you have any questions or suggestions, please write them in the comments below so that I can answer them for everyone to see.
I also offer workshops in Germany for those who find it too dry to learn with a book, or who see my book only as an introduction to plein air painting (private workshops in English, too).
Readers’ comments
“I think the book is mega great and I’m now very inspired by it. I’ve just been sitting in the kitchen for two hours without realizing it.
So hats off – really a very nice book. I might even take up plein air oil painting this summer. I’ve had it in my head for a while and now I have the perfect resource for it :)”
(@dannyhawk via Instagram)
“Dear Yo, I have just received your book ‘Just paint outside’ with great enthusiasm, I must have ordered it a month ago and had to wait so long, it was worth it, I have wanted to paint outside for so long, I have everything at home and I just don’t dare to do it, I don’t know what it is.
BUT, I am soooo excited about your paintings that I had to order your book to get the incentive to go out the door (to paint), thank you for this wonderful book!”
(@simbakunst via Instagram)
Wow, a big compliment to Yo Rühmer for this highly recommended book. On 248 colorful pages you will learn everything, really everything you need to know about oil painting and plein air painting in particular. Apart from that, Yo Rühmer is not only a great artist, she shows countless works in this book, but also a super pleasant author.she manages to convey knowledge in such a way that it is easy to understand and immediately comprehensible thanks to the many paintings and examples. Everything that is explained in the book is supported visually.
After reading this book, I now know exactly what materials I need, where to get them and how to build a pochade box myself. I have …
… I learned a lot about colors, mixing and their effects, painting mediums finally have a name and a meaning. Although I have been painting for a while now, there was still a lot that was new and therefore absolutely valuable. The many tips on the right composition, on perspective – how to see and implement it correctly, on the effect of light and shadow – how to create an interesting painting, the countless step-by-step painting creations, experience reports and anecdotes – I didn’t expect them to be so extensive, but they are absolutely worth their weight in gold and it’s great fun to read and discover them. The many examples in which Yo uses past paintings to show what she would do differently in retrospect to make the motif even more exciting are also super interesting and helpful. To illustrate this, she has edited the paintings in Photoshop afterwards as examples and you can see in the comparison exactly what effect these little things in the composition have on the works of art. Finally a book that answers all the questions and also answers the questions that might arise while painting. It makes you want to get out there and start painting straight away. The book is an “oil painting plein air bible”, suitable for beginners and advanced painters alike and I will definitely refer to it often, because there is still so much to discover and try out. read more
(famee_design via Gerstaecker)
And I was particularly pleased with this feedback:
A painting instead of text: Color blends made with my book!
(@tjakkelina.nl via Instagram)
“Dear Yo, I received your book from the publisher today and I really like what I’ve read so far… The husband has now bought a router especially to build me a pochade box like this. He’s always happy to support me… I’ve seen that I can also use it to build transport boxes for the painting plates and a drying rack for later at home… I’m really blown away! Maybe I’ll start by practicing with oil pastels outside to get into the groove. In any case, I think it’s great what you’re passing on in terms of experience! Best wishes and thank you for the beautiful book 📖!!!
(@ulliversum.art via Instagram)
“I bought the book two weeks ago and have not put it down. Perfect for me. Lots of tips and new insights (can now convert angles into time). Tried out the practice last week and have never been so happy with my new painting. Thank you so much!”
(@ilonadony via Instagram)
This book was recommended to me by a plein air painter who is even part of the book. It is suitable for anyone who is not yet confident enough to paint outdoors, but has always secretly dreamed of doing so.
Yo builds her lessons on each other in a meaningful way. She explains material, lighting conditions, different times of day, motifs and composition. Her own paintings decorate each chapter in a meaningful way and expand the explanations so that you immediately understand what the information is about in practice.
Yo’s language is so direct and blunt that you feel like she’s standing next to you. It is simply wonderfully written and I could hardly put it down. She repeatedly supplements some chapters with step-by-step examples. These are extremely informative in terms of her technique and her way of thinking. They are not suitable for “repainting” the motifs, but that is not what they are intended for.
The book immediately makes you want to pack your painting materials and go out.
I would recommend it to ANYONE who is toying with the idea.
(Julia Ulrich via Amazon)
A look inside the book
Contents
You can take a look at the table of contents here:
Quick pass
This chapter gives you an overview of the structure of the book:
Material
Take a look at the materials chapter, where I show you what I take with me outside:
(I have also summarized a brief overview of what I think you need as a minimum if you want to paint outside for the first time under the link Pleinair equipment ).
Colors
In the chapter I write everything I know about colors. Here is a short excerpt:
This is how I paint in oil
This chapter is full of practical tips and shows many step-by-step examples to demonstrate how I paint:
Where, what and when to paint?
These three chapters make up the main part of the book. Here you can see a small selection of them:
Composition chapter
In this chapter, I write about composition in plain air painting, but also how to create spatiality in your paintings through linear and atmospheric perspective:
With other paints
Once a year I go on an art retreat with colleagues – we go somewhere together and spend a week there doing nothing but painting, painting, painting … In this chapter I show how nice it is to paint with others, and how exciting it is to see what comes out when three painters paint the same motif:
Have a look at our joint plein air art retreat blog!
And here you can see how fun it can be to paint together: We invented the painter’s carousel! After everyone started with their painting, we changed workstations every quarter of an hour. In the end, everyone had painted every painting…
(we, that is: Torsten Wolber, Alfons Kiefer and me).
Querstions? Feedback?
Please leave a comment so that I can reply for everyone to see.