The crystalizing experience that convinced California artist Linda Gunn to become a professional artist occurred when one of her paintings won a magazine’s painting competition.  “The painting was published in the magazine and used as a cover photo and that gave me confidence in my abilities,” she says.

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.

Artists’ Colonies in New Mexico, California, Indiana, Connecticut, and Massachusetts played a major role in the development of plein air painting and American Impressionism from the 1880s through the 1940s. The Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania is currently exhibiting paintings by leading members of those communities.

The plein air watercolor paintings Eileen Monaghan Whitaker created in California, Mexico, Guatemala, and Spain earned her an international reputation, but her work in establishing a foundation dedicated to the conservation and promotion of her artwork may go further in preserving her memory and the record of her accomplishments.