Sam Boughton

For artists passionate about the landscape
Learn more with me: https://sam-boughton.mykajabi.com/courses

28/08/2026

The wind nearly took my feet on Tuesday.

Instead of fighting it I just... let the marks follow it. Long, fast strokes in the direction it was pushing me.

That painting looks nothing like the field I was standing in. It looks exactly like what it felt like to stand there.

That's the bit nobody tells you about painting outside, the weather isn't an obstacle. It's a collaborator.

Sam xx

25/08/2026

I used to throw so much work away as soon as i got home after painting outdoors.

I don't do that now. As its my critical mind telling me it's no good.

Now i give it some time. You see differently after a while.

21/08/2026

August light does something no other month does. Everything goes gold about an hour before it actually sets.

I used to rush to catch "the good light" like it was a deadline. Now I just go out a bit earlier and let it happen around me instead of chasing it.

Funny how much better the painting turns out when you're not racing it.

What time of day do you paint best?

Sam xx

18/08/2026

Today painting came slowly. I was frustrated about something entirely unrelated to art, one of those days. But I ended up just being in the moment for a bit.

That's one of the reasons I paint. Not for the finished piece. For the two hours where the noise in my head goes quiet.

Sam xx

14/08/2026

People ask me this constantly so here it is: the actual, unglamorous list of what's in my bag when I go drawing.

Its nothing too fancy! Just the things that survive a muddy field and a bit of rough handling.

Simple kit means less to think about, which means more attention on the painting. That's the whole point.

What's the one thing you never leave home without?

Sam xx

13/08/2026

[This Q&A has now taken place, thank you to everyone who joined! 💛]

Come join me live on Zoom this Sunday, 16 August, 6:30pm. A proper Q&A on everything Plein Air Abstracts.

Stop trying to paint what you see. Paint what it feels like to stand there. That's the thing I got wrong for years, trying to get the trees "right", the water "right", it always came out stiff. Lifeless. Like a copy, not a painting.

I'll talk through how I paint movement instead of the thing itself, and answer whatever you want to ask.

Sam xx

11/08/2026

Quick one for you.

If you're painting trees or water and it looks stiff, you're probably painting the thing, not the movement.

Try this: instead of individual leaves or ripples, follow the direction things are actually moving in. One continuous gesture, not lots of little marks.

It feels wrong at first. Too loose, too fast. Do it anyway.

Try it and show me what you get. 🎨

Sam xx

07/08/2026

I used to pack my whole studio into my rucksack. Every tube I owned. "Just in case."

It made my back hurt and my paintings worse.

Fewer colours forces you to actually look — to mix, to guess, to commit. That's where the good marks come from.

Try it next time you're out. Three colours. One warm, one cool, one neutral. See what you make with less.

Save this one for your next plein air day. 🎨

Sam xx

05/08/2026

Left the house at 6am because I couldn't sleep and the light looked too good to waste.

No plan. No idea what I was going to paint. Just walked until something stopped me.

Half the paintings I actually like started this way: no plan, just the walking, just seeing what caught my eye first.

The ones I plan too much always end up a bit stiff.

What gets you out the door before you've even decided what you're painting? 🎨

Sam xx

31/07/2026

Moving toward abstraction is one of the things I'm asked about the most.

The fear of letting go. The inner critic. The sketchbook full of life and the studio painting that somehow loses it all.
What I keep coming back to: abstraction doesn't mean abandoning what you know. It means distilling it — stripping back to what you actually felt, what the place stirred in you.

That's not less. It's often more.
Part 1 of a new blog series is up, including a practical exercise to try this week.

Comment BLOG and I'll send you the link.
Sam xx

Address

57 Third Avenue
Teignmouth
TQ149DP

Website

http://www.samboughton.co.uk/

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