Pochade

A pochade (from French poche, pocket) is a type of sketch used in painting. As opposed to a croquis, which is line art, a pochade captures the colors and atmosphere of a scene.

Generally, pochades use a small format suitable for carrying around. Robert Henri and James Wilson Morrice for example painted such sketches on small wood panels that fit in a coat pocket along with oil paint tubes. Others artists such as landscape painter John Constable made pochades the size of the intended painting.

An example is the well-renowned pochade.co.uk site, where two artists, Carl Melegari and Anthony Bridge, are painting a pochade each every day for a year.