From the Latest Issue of PleinAir Magazine

PleinAir Magazine AugSept2026

Featured Artwork

Latest Articles

Liane Whittum, "Sunapee Study #2," 2022, oil, 8 x 16 in., private collection, plein air painting

Accuracy Over Comfort

For much of her career, Liane Whittum was known as a still life painter. Landscape called to her quietly but insistently, until plein air painting finally unlocked a way forward ...

Painting of the Week: Mountainside View

Rich Gallego has been painting the landscape since 1996. His longtime love of nature's wild places has taken him far afield from ...
Scott Christensen, "High in the Wind River Range," oil, 26 x 40 in.

15 Ways to Take Your Art to the Next Level

We’ve gathered 15 of our favorite pointers and strategies that can help you stay inspired and elevate your work. Whether you’re seeking to sharpen your skills or refresh your approach, these ideas offer a treasure trove of advice from some of the finest painters working today.
Plein air painter Ismail Kadir

Plein Air Painting Spotlight: Malaysian Artist Ismail Kadir

As a full-time artist for more than three decades, I’ve painted a range of subjects, including portraiture, floral, and still life, but landscape is dear to my heart. I live on the East Coast of West Malaysia, in what’s regarded as the most ...

Awake at Night: Painting Nocturnes

When painting nocturnes in urban areas, I’ve had all kinds of encounters with ...
Stephanie Birdsall plein air painting fruit trees

Plein Air Painting Tip: Plan By the Seasons

The energy surge, delight and awe, I experience when I'm surrounded by nature's colors is such a visceral experience. Here's why I ...
plein air painting by Hsin-Yao Tseng artist

Hsin-Yao Tseng’s Unending Ambition for Plein Air Painting

Go "behind the easel" and learn Hsin-Yao Tseng's plein air painting techniques, which are driven by his unending ambition to make better paintings.
Fall painting retreat

The Light is Changing 🍁

Soon, the maples in Maine will be on fire — scarlet, amber, gold so bright it almost hurts to look at it — and a small group of painters will be standing in the middle of it with brushes in their hands and nowhere else to be. I want you to be one of them.

Anatomy of a Peculiar Painting Composition

Andrew Borg wanted to capture a “sensation” rather than an “expression” when he set out to create this unusual painting composition.
Artist sitting in his studio with framed paintings filling the wall

From Illustration to Fine Art: Marc Anderson’s Path to Painting

In this episode of the Plein Air Podcast, Eric Rhoads interviews artist Marc Anderson about his path from freelance illustration to fine art and the discovery of plein air painting that changed the direction of his career.
In this new episode of the Plein Air Podcast with Eric Rhoads, explore how plein air painting shaped John Lasater’s artistic journey—from the highs and lows of the competition circuit to learning composition through feeling, study, and community.
"Fall foliage is my favorite time of year to paint in the White Mountains," said Melanie Barash Levitt. In this classic Art School Live interview, Melanie paints a fall landscape using only a palette knife.
Right now we're seeing up-close-and-personal presentations during Plein Air Live, an online art conference unlike any other.
The unique challenge of the forested landscape is translating all that chaotic beauty into a coherent design. In scenes that include millions of leaves and needles, thousands of branches, hundreds of species of plants, and numberless blades of grass, where do we begin? Rick J. Delanty explains.

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