Both Kim Lordier and Ned Mueller were extremely impressed with Mitch Baird’s painting of gondoliers navigating a canal in Venice, Italy and awarded it the First Prize in the November/December competition for the 1st Annual PleinAir Salon. The Arizona artist is a dedicated plein air painter who uses his field sketches in the studio to create stunning landscapes, still lifes, and figurative paintings.

More than 40,000 people are following artist Lori McNee on Twitter, and many more are reading her blogs and articles on a variety of internet sites. That’s why she has become one of the most reliable sources of information for artists. One of her recent posts describes a new site for sharing interests among internet users.

When Michael Chesley Johnson paints outdoors, he spends about as much time working in pastel as he does in oil and that often prompts students to ask how he decides which medium to use.  “I don't find that a particular subject matter is more appropriately handled in one medium or another,” he says in response. Johnson will be discussing those aspects of his extraordinary artwork and more during his presentation at the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo from April 12-15, 2012.

Plein air artists realize they will be able to spend more time painting and get better results if they buy well made panels with the surfaces that suit their personal style. That’s why they rely on RayMar panels and carrying cases (www.raymarart.com), a Bronze Sponsor and the Official Panel of the 1st Annual PleinAir Convention & Expo in Las Vegas from April 12-15, 2012.

The presentation Thomas Jefferson Kitts makes in Red Rock National Conservation Area during the 1st PleinAir Convention & Expo will cover a remarkably wide range of materials and techniques. That’s because the Oregon artist is amazingly knowledgeable and has won major awards in plein air competition, and because he teaches comprehensive workshops on both outdoor painting and studio practices.

We asked Ned Mueller to tell us about the painting that Jill Carver selected to win First Prize in the September/October section of the 1st National PleinAir Salon Competition. “This painting is one of my favorites as well as it is for many other people, and I am very grateful for that,” Mueller says.

John Singer Sargent wanted to be identified as an artist, not just a portrait painter, because the best portraits are created by those who also spend time drawing and painting landscapes, still lifes, and figures. Tennessee artist Dawn Whitelaw shares that opinion, and although she is in demand as one of the top portrait painters in the country she is also an active plein air painter and teacher.

The Oil Painters of America (OPA) is inviting artists to join the 7th Annual Great Paint Out at the Burritt Museum in Huntsville, Alabama on September 11, 2011 (rain date September 12). All are welcome to paint on the grounds of the museum atop Monte Sano Mountain overlooking Huntsville.