en plein air
Americanadverb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The result was 37 paintings begun from the motif en plein air, some worked on later in the studio at Giverny.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025
He began painting en plein air — outside — when he was a child and one of his art teachers took him and other students out of class to paint.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2025
For something more substantial, you have to leave en plein air to dine at the hotel’s new lobby restaurant Otium Grill & Greens.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 10, 2022
Although Lathrop often worked en plein air, in the manner of many Pennsylvania impressionists, he deemed it important to complete his paintings in the studio, drawing also upon memory.
From Washington Times • Aug. 1, 2020
Beowulf had knitted a carrying case with a strap, perfect for those times when one gets the urge to paint en plein air and needs to carry one’s portable easel, paints, and brushes outdoors.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
