The Pastel Society of the Gold Coast is a group of thirty artists who live along the coast of California from Santa Barbara to Long Beach. The members paint together and support local organizations that help reclaim, restore, or maintain the state's natural beauty. The members are currently exhibiting their paintings at the University of California Santa Barbara Faculty Club (UCSB) to benefit the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (until June 28, 2012).

PleinAir magazine’s editor Steve Doherty selected paintings for exhibition and judged the awards in the 2011 Annual Members Exhibition of the Connecticut Plein Air Painters (CPAPS) exhibition at Hartford Fine Art & Framing in East Hartford, Connecticut. The exhibition opens with a reception on September 1st and continues through October 21, 2011.

When artists clamor to buy another artist’s paintings, you know there is something remarkable about that work. That certainly was the case when people rushed over to Charlie Hunter to make offers to buy the oil and watercolor paintings he created during the "Publisher's Invitational" Paint the Adirondacks even from June 21-26, 2011.

As mentioned in last week’s PleinAir Today e-newsletter, learning from other artists can be one of the benefits of attending an event like the "Publisher's Invitational" Paint the Adirondacks event in June or the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo in Las Vega April 12-15, 2012. One of the talented artists we talked to during the "Publisher’s Invitational" was Lori Putnam from Franklin, Tennessee.

One of the interesting and instructive aspects of the recent "Publisher's Invitational" Paint the Adirondacks event was seeing how several talented artists painted the exact same location. The comparison reveals differences in materials, techniques, and style. That same opportunity will be available during the 1st PleinAir Convention & Expo next April.

There is as much to learn from talking to other painters attending an event like the "Publisher's Invitational" Paint the Adirondacks event or the upcoming 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo next April in Las Vegas as there is in art classes and workshops. For example, during the Adirondack invitational Erik Koeppel and Lauren Sansaricq shared lots of valuable information about their plein air painting materials and techniques during meals with other participants and while painting out on location.

One of the many benefits to participating in plein air festivals, paint-outs, and artists’ conventions is being part of something that is bigger than the sum total of the individual members. The association with a professionally run event can connect, validate, and promote the participating artists in ways they never could on their own, especially in this age of social media like Facebook and Twitter.

One of the best ways to enjoy an event such as the "Publisher's Invitational" Paint the Adirondacks event or the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo in Las Vegas is to attend with artist friends from you community or from within your plein air group. That’s what a number of artists did when traveling distances to the Adirondack Mountains, including eight artists from Tennessee.

“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 "Publisher’s Invitational" Paint the Adirondacks event 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!

I traveled through Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland from April 8-16 taking photographs and filming videos of artists participating in outdoor painting  events. Here's a brief look at the artists at their easels in Spring gardens. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it