During the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo in Las Vegas, officers of the Plein-Air Painters of America (PAPA) presented collector Roy Rose and PleinAir magazine editor Steve Doherty with Lifetime Achievement Awards. The presentations were made by PAPA President Gil Dellinger and former President Kenn Backhaus.

More than six hundred people attending the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo were so impressed with the presentations made during the four-day event in Las Vegas that they spontaneously rose to their feet while applauding several of the speakers. Most of those participants felt that the event far exceeded their expectations and that the presentations were so informative and inspiring that they were life-changing experiences.

Virginia artist David Tanner relies on his 20 years of experience to create plein air landscapes and figurative compositions based on sketches, photographs and direct observation. He’ll be sharing his oil painting techniques in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on Saturday April 14th during the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo.  Here he offers a brief review of his creative process.

In response to many requests, the schedule of events for the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo has been adjusted to allow more time for painting outdoors. On Sunday morning, April 15th, artists will be taken to Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada for an exciting morning of painting in an Old West town where movies and television shows are filmed.

“An awesome moment in time!” “Count me in for the next time!” “This made such an impact!” Those were just some of the comments from the 80+ artists who painted during the PleinAir Publisher’s Invitational event in the Adirondack Mountains during the week of June 21-26, 2011. Most of those artists are now planning to attend the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo from April 12-15, 2012 at the Red Rocks Casino, Spa & Resort in Las Vegas, AND THEY WANT YOU TO JOIN THEM!

Many of the national parks invite artists to be in residence, trading accommodations, working space and an exhibition for public programs offered free of charge to park visitors. Plein air painter Ron Spears will be the artist in residence at Zion National Park from May 7th through May 18th.

When Scott Gellatly paints in the Red Rock National Conservation Area during the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo, he will offer the benefits of his experience as both an accomplished painter and an expert on artists materials. That’s because in addition to being an exhibiting artist he is a Product Manager for Gamblin Artists Colors, a Bronze Level Sponsor and maker of the Official Oil Paint of the convention.

Because the Red Rock Casino Resort has sold out for the dates of the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo, we have secured additional lodging at the hotel’s sister resort, negotiated an low price, and guaranteed free shuttle service between the two hotels.

Publisher Eric Rhoads is intent on making the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo an unprecedented, extraordinary opportunity to exchange idea and learn from top artists. That’s why he invited Nikolai Dubovik and Olga Belakovskaya to travel from Moscow to discuss the unique plein air tradition in Russia, especially at the Surikov Institute where Nikolai is a tenured instructor.

We’re proud to announce that one of Ken Auster’s plein air paintings of San Francisco will be featured on the cover of the February/March issue of PleinAir magazine, the first issue in the expanded bimonthly frequency of the magazine. Auster will be the subject of a feature story in the issue that highlights his career, his painting techniques, and his participation in the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo taking place from April 12-15, 2012 in Las Vegas.