An eager collector called us to ask how he could contact two artists recently featured in PleinAir magazine, and we had difficulty providing contact information for those painters. That prompted us to suggest that every painter consider how hard it might be for that same collector to buy their work.

The Editor's Note I wrote for the June/July issue of PleinAir magazine prompted a number of comments from other artists about the imperfect and subjective nature of plein air competitions. I decided to reprint that essay here to expand the dialogue about contests as a learning process.

Writer Bob Bahr and I visited the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey this past week to see an exhibition of paintings by George Inness (1825-1894) who is sometimes called the “Father of American Landscape Painting.” Standing within inches of the canvases gave us fresh insight into the ways oil paint can be manipulated to create light, atmosphere, mystery, and spirituality.

With the increased speed of communication through digital media, there has been an increase in the number of poorly written and insensitive criticism of artwork on websites. Comments are often added below paintings that are not helpful, especially when they come across as drive-by, random shots from a passing critic.

In the Fall digital edition of PleinAir magazine, Raleigh Kinney offers a demonstration of how to maintain the natural freshness, vibrancy, and immediacy of watercolors when painting Watercolor. The distinguished member of the Plein Air Painters of America also describes his background, teaching, and recent paintings.

In the fall issue of PleinAir Magazine, we report on a group of artists who were invited to paint on the ranch near Santa Barbara, California once owned by President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan. Rancho del Cielo (ranch in the heavens), as the Reagans called it, is a 688-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Pat Suggs was one of the 15 artists invited to the ranch, and she describes how she used pastels to create plein air paintings of the location.

When members of the San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS) headed for scenic painting locations on Wednesday mornings, Mike Shirk used to arrive in his wheelchairs or motorized scooters ready to paint. Despite his disabilities, Shirk made every effort to enjoy plein air painting and to be an active member of the SDWS for as long as he could.