Art-ing in public - How can an introvert paint En Plein Air?

I want to improve my art by sketching En Plein Air (outside in the open air).  But I'm an extreme introvert.  Talking with people is the fastest way to drain my energy.  

I don't mind people judging my art, looking at it, or whatever.  I'm fine with being a beginner and crap at art.  That's how I learn to be less crap - by doing art.  The part I fear is having to interact with other humans when really all I want to do is paint.  

The few times I've tried taking my sketchbook and watercolours to a cafe I had people come up to me and take the book out of my hand and flip through it (damaging the wet paint of the painting I was working on).  This made me very unhappy.  I don't know if it's part of living in a tourist town where anything out of the ordinary is considered a welcome for them to interact with my stuff.  Or if I just don't have a grumpy enough face.  Or maybe I should put a hat out and ask for money, that usually scares people away - or makes them talk to you more because they think the two dollars earns ten minutes of conversation.  

And now I want to try oil painting out and about.  I feel like this will be a great way to improve my skills.  To paint on location with the pressure of time.  I can learn so much more this way than painting from photos.  

So what do I need to do to work up the courage?

And how do I reduce the chances of having to talk to other humans (without blocking sound and risking a bear or other dangerous wildlife encounter)?  


ps.  Arting is a verb now, apparently.

I wonder if advertising your preference would work, or would people assume you were just being funny?

I feel that going to a big park with lots of trees would appeal to me.

My suggestion would be to find a spot far away from the parking lot and sort of hidden behind some bushes, trees etc. where no people are in sight.

One of the other challenges is keeping safe as a women out and about alone.  In a lot of ways, crowds help with this.  A bear, cougar, or other preditor is more likely to attack or interact with a person alone.  I've also noticed that humans are more likely to talk to me for longer periods, if they feel I'm isolated from the crowd.

Sort of catch 22.  The more alone I try to get, the more they seek me out and expect me to talk to them.  This is really annoying at big events when I'm trying to take a break to unpeople and recharge.  

Nice shirt.

I tried a go away sign once and a shirt about how I dislike humans.  These seem to be conversation starters.  Apparently lots of people dislike humas and are super-happy to have someone to talk to who is brave enough to say so with a sign.

I think there has to be some other trick to it.  Perhaps a smaller sign that people cannot see from far away?  Something amusing but says "shut the F up, artist is painting here" without actually saying that.

I have done a fair bit of arting in public and semi public.
There are lots of people who consider artmaking a form of magic and some who are just fascinated by the process. If you are out there, you will get some people who are going to be interested. I've never had anyone be as terrible as trying (succeeding?!?) to handle what I was actively working on but then I get described as intimidating.

What I would recommend is to make up some "business" cards that you can hand out. They can just be cut or ripped pieces of watercolour paper and you can handwrite whatever you want on them. ( you can do small, simple colour or studies on the backs of those cards too, if you want) You could even send them to the art section here at permies. Or set up a small gallery on free Wordpress or any other site. Whatever you are comfortable with. Then you can hand over the cards and they can go away happy.

We have a gentleman that does paintings of scenery and buildings all around the village I live in. He drives out to his spots with his van, opens the rear hatch, and sets up his easel and gets to work.

The audacity of some folks I don't have a solution for, but it makes me wonder how an artist can position themselves to reduce openings for interruption.

Do you generally try to do live painting out in populated places? Perhaps there are back roads that are visible/less traveled you can try first?

I'm going to practice on my farm first so I don't have to struggle with my equipment and there are very few cougars here compared to closer to town (only lost two animals larger than a human to cougars in the last ten years).

This has the advantage of getting to know my supplies and finding out what I can leave at home.

My theory is, if I'm confident in my supplies, it shows in my body language and reduces the likelihood of more draining people wanting to interact with me.  

Thinking more about my time hiking in the wilderness, body language does more to repel predators than anything else.

A "Please do not touch" sign on your easel? Find a way to look more intimidating? I know my normal resting expression seems to be relatively open & friendly. But, when I'm concentrating on something, and deliberately trying to tune out the world, I apparently develop an 'RBF' (resting bitch face), because people who know me well enough to inquire, but not well enough to just 'know', will often ask me if I'm ok, or what I'm upset about. It kind of explains why most strangers tend to keep their distance, when I'm really concentrating, but will often interrupt, when I'm more relaxed about what I'm doing.

The whole other people thing is a big part of why if I'm out in public I stick with pencils or quick drying ink. I don't want to use my brushes as drumsticks on poorly behaved strangers! I don't mind people watching, and maybe a question or two, but I'm trying to draw, not there to give free child-sitting or be a trapped audience for some bored drunk's life story.

Going in small groups helps, especially if at least one of the team is willing to be the people wrangler. When I've talked with others in a class trying it, women alone did get bothered more often, and we did notice more people trying to touch us, our work, and our supplies. If there's street entertainment (like at a festival) it's easier, people are usually more interested in that.

If you haven't come across https://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com he does a lot of public painting (mostly in gouache) and talks about things that have worked for him.

Have you tried wearing headphones? You don't even need to listen to anything but I find that's often seen as a signal that you don't want people to talk to you, as long as the headphones are clearly visible. The over the ear kind seem to work best.

I've also just pretended not to hear people when wearing headphones and most people will give up fairly quickly. Or if they keep trying to talk to me, I can make a show of asking them to hold on, pausing (or pretending to pause) what I'm listening to, and taking off my headphones with a sigh, which also gives cues that you don't want to chat. If they don't get the hint, you can just say, sorry I'm in the middle of something and put the headphones back on and go back to what you were doing.

K Kaba's mention of a class, makes me think of a watercolor class that I took long ago. There were eight or ten of us, and the instructor. Each day we would walk to a location and each choose a view that we liked to paint. I don't remember anyone ever bothering us, although the locale was "exclusively" rural (we were on an island in Maine, well known to artists).

It makes me wonder if an interloper would have been deterred by the "official" appearance of a "class" with "students", rather than a lone painter. Safety in numbers?
The other aspect, fewer people to be pests, can be achieved by choosing times or places that are less popular or off the beaten path rather than in the hustle and bustle.

An extreme step might be to find or create a secluded spot to paint. Like the guy in the hatch of his van, or a hunter in a blind, not exposing/advertising yourself to passers by.

On that island in Maine, lived a well-known artist. He often painted from secret, hidden spots, to avoid detection and being hassled by admirers of his paintings. One day, HE walked past our class on his way to his boat, he paused to see what this group of people with painting gear was looking at. My mother noticed him first, and poked me, we exchanged glances with him, as he hurried off. Once he was away on the water, Mom told the others, who asked and answered their own question - "Oh, why didn't you tell us?!"

I had considered putting this on the back of my easel



But I worried it would invite conversation.  

Maybe something kinder and with more humour that extroverts can relate to?  

Out of curosity, I took a look for signs on some online shops and stumbled on this.



It looks like this might be a common issue for folks.

Or perhaps something more like this one?



Would that give the kind message (please shut up and let me paint)?

Put out a sign saying : “Busy at work, watching welcome. Please leave written questions with contact information. I’ll respond later. Thank you and have a wonderful day ”
I will tell you this, the more you work in public the easier it will get to have conversations while working.
Put out a sign “don’t touch” as well.