Tag: Wahconah Falls

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Plein air painting waste and the plastic bag ban

Intrepid painters at Wahconah Falls State Park (Berkshires workshop).

In the old days, my highest-rated blog post was this essay on folding plastic bags to fit in your kit. (Now it’s this debunking of tetrochromacy; don’t ask me why.)

Today, 12 states have plastic-bag bans: Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii.

My county was an early adopter, and I supported the plastic bag ban. Not because it cut down on plastics; grocery bags comprise a miniscule part of America’s plastic consumption. I was sick of seeing bags hanging from trees, fences and shrubs. The prevailing winds in coastal Maine blow towards the ocean. Sea urchins, jellyfish and the other denizens of tidal pools don’t need to be dodging plastic bags.

However, I’ve noticed in recent workshops that my students have a harder time dealing with plein air painting waste now that plastic grocery bags are less plentiful.

Alicia made a beautiful painting in a real Ashcan School setting (Berkshires workshop).

Short weekly class session starts next Monday

Claim your spot in Painting Water, Monday evenings or Painting Nocturnes, Tuesday evenings. Both are 6-9 PM, starting the week of August 17, 2026, which is next week.

This is my last Zoom session until I get back from Sedona Plein Air at the end of October. That’s because I’m teaching and eventing non-stop until then.

I upload videos of these online classes and you have access to them for as long as there’s YouTube. That means you can review them if you need a refresher or have to cut out early.

My city-slicker student Jackie wasn’t keen on the chickens, but they seemed to love her! (Berkshires workshop)

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag)

Obviously, we want to carry in, carry out. We’re stewards of the landscape, after all.

I don’t like the lightweight trash receptacles that are meant to hang from your easel. They’re heavier and bigger than a plastic bag. Emptying them in a trash can may be no big deal in Manhattan, but it’s a pain in less civilized areas. They tumble around in your car until you empty them. That’s an opportunity to get paint on the upholstery. Then you have to fold them and remember to put them back in your kit.

Washable reusable bags put pigments into the water stream. Paper bags leak. The humble plastic bag remains the most practical answer, but in the bag-ban states, we have to buy rolls of 1-gallon trash bags. I’ve resigned myself to it.

Linda tried to take a pig home with her after she painted its portrait (Berkshires workshop).

Trash is tough if you forget the bag

Without a trash bag, plein air painting waste can be difficult to manage. Used paper towels and rags accumulate quickly. There are foul, sticky palette scrapings, bits of tape, plastic gloves, sandwich wrappers, tissues and other trash.

I’ve been forced to tuck dirty rags into my pockets. Worse is to set them down until you pack up. They get paint on the ground and can blow away. A dirty paper towel isn’t just unsightly litter. Pigments shouldn’t be added to the landscape.

One of the pleasures of plein air painting is that you develop an intimate relationship with a particular piece of land. That means you also notice the garbage. I hike daily and find coffee cups, soda cans, dog poop, candy wrappers, tissues, etc. along the trail.

Your painting kit should contain everything you need to make the painting and everything you need to pack up and leave no trace. We are guests in the landscape. Our goal should be to leave our little patch of earth looking as we found it, if not better.

I have just two workshops left in 2026! Reserve your spot:

Can’t commit to a full workshop? Work online at your own pace:

Seven Protocols for Successful Oil Painters

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Forest bathing or plein air painting?

Yesterday morning, as I waited for my plein air workshop students at Wahconah Falls State Park, I read this post about shinrin-yoku, or ‘forest bathing.’ That lasted until I realized the absurdity of sitting in nature reading on my phone about the benefits of sitting in nature.

Forest bathing is the practice of immersing yourself in a forest or other natural setting, not for exercise, but to take in the atmosphere with all your senses. I hate the term “mindfulness,” but that’s what it’s all about. The forest is your therapist, and it works for free. Forest bathing and plein air painting are very similar in goals and outcome.

Wahconah Falls State Park in Massachusetts has countless beautiful vistas.

The benefits of forest bathing

According to those who practice forest bathing, time in nature lowers the stress hormone cortisol, slows your heart rate, and helps your nervous system shift into a calmer state. Time spent in nature alleviates depression. Practitioners report they think more clearly and feel more creative after time in the woods.

This may be because trees release airborne compounds called phytoncides. These are natural antimicrobial chemicals that plants use to protect themselves. Breathing them in may enhance immune responses, reduce stress, and improve mood.

The air in the forest is generally cleaner than in urban areas. Gentle movement in oxygen-rich air can lower blood pressure and improve heart rate.

Forest bathing cultivates awareness of the sights, sounds, smells, and textures around you, building a deeper relationship with the natural world. Lower stress levels, more physical relaxation, and natural light exposure during the day can all help improve the quality of your sleep.

Cheryl painting the falls themselves.

How do you do it?

Choose a natural area where you can wander without constant traffic noise or interruptions. Experts say to leave your phone behind, but that strikes me as dangerous; silencing it is enough. Forget about mileage or steps, and move at a slow pace. This allows you to engage your senses, to notice colors, shapes, and tiny details. Listen for bird calls, cicadas (which we heard yesterday) or the sound of water. An often-overlooked sense in the forest is smell. It’s one of my favorite things about walking in the woods.

Forest bathing experts tell us to stop periodically and be utterly still. Let your thoughts drift. Minimally, you want to spend 20–30 minutes, but ideally, seek an hour or more of woodland time. Forest bathers say to end this with gratitude; I certainly feel that after my daily hikes.

Bonnie forest bathing, er, plein air painting.

How does this differ from plein air painting?

It doesn’t. Plein air painting and forest bathing work on your body and mind in surprisingly similar ways.

They both slow you down, helping you absorb details of place without rushing. In plein air painting, you can easily focus on one scene for hours. You shift from going somewhere to just being in nature.

In both, you’re hearing birds, feeling the sun on your skin, smelling grass or salt air. A painter’s heightened visual observation parallels a forest bather’s full sensory awareness.

Forest bathing invites you to simply be in nature. Plein air painting almost forces you to engage with that, because you are concentrating deeply on the environment.

Both activities reduce stress and improve mood. The creative act of painting can also trigger “flow,” where time disappears and you feel deeply satisfied.

Ultimately, both deepen your relationship with the natural world. You give your time and attention, and in return nature offers beauty, calm, and inspiration.

And even I did a quick painting. (Photo courtesy Cheryl Shanahan)

I have just two workshops left in 2026! Reserve your spot:

Can’t commit to a full workshop? Work online at your own pace:

Seven Protocols for Successful Oil Painters