From the Latest Issue of PleinAir Magazine
Latest Articles
Popsicle Plein Air Painting
Who says you can only paint outdoors in warm weather? If you put together the right equipment and have a bit of adventurous spirit, this is a way to find new inspiration. Here's how one New Mexico artist does it.
4th Graders Learn Plein Air Painting
The series introduced students to the plein air tradition through brief art history lessons, live artist demonstrations, and hands-on outdoor painting sessions, culminating in a docent-led museum visit and a student paint-out in Balboa Park.
The Complexity and Nuance of “Standing Tall”
Ellen Howard was an invited artist and VIP at this year's Desert Plein Air Competition. Here, she shares her inspiration for the two paintings she entered, and her gratitude for the plein air community.
Why I Paint With Acrylics en Plein Air
After painting with watercolor for two decades, Marc Grandbois shares why acrylic painting fills his needs for painting on location, and how it's the "perfect bridge."
Plein Air Paintings of Cincinnati’s Union Terminal
Marlene Steele's plein air paintings document the renovation of the historic Cincinnati Union Terminal and celebrate traditional trades in the revitalization of the Art Deco train station now known as the Cincinnati Museum Center.
Happening This Week: 2026 Gouache Bootcamp
Do you know why many of the top studio and plein air artists are exploring gouache? It's their portable studio in a tube – paint anywhere without solvents or setup. Gouache paints with the feel and flexibility of oil, yet dilutes to get the effects of watercolor.
Hello from Hilton Head!
This year's Winter Art Escape offered unparalleled opportunities for artistic growth, including one-on-one painting sessions with Eric Rhoads. Enjoy this photo essay of our paint-outs and more.
5 Quick and Dirty Tips for Artists
Plein air painter Gene Costanza shares his five quick tips for artists on composition, color, and more.
My Car is My Art Studio
Although I still sometimes set up my easel in the snow in early spring, for the past 10 years I’ve increasingly painted wintry landscapes from my car. I’ve become so used to it that I can now work fairly large — as big as a quarter sheet of watercolor paper (11 x 15 inches). It may seem awkward, but I’ve been doing this for so long that it’s actually become one of my favorite places to paint. Here's how I do it, and my advice for plein air painting in winter.
The Power of Black, White, and Gray
Inspired by Southeast Asia, Bob Masla explores watercolor, Sumi-e, and Notan studies that reveal the strength of values, brushwork, and design.
Combining gouache and oil might sound unlikely, but the two can form a powerful partnership when handled correctly. Raymond Bonilla treats gouache like a painter’s utility knife: a fast, forgiving tool to build a value and temperature map. The result is a workflow that speeds decision making, reduces solvent use, and gives the finished piece both vibrancy and painterly texture.
With it being in the heart of winter and in the midst of unpredictable weather, it's the perfect time to cozy up with a cup of coffee and get out your sketchbook, favorite drawing utensil, and a timer.
![Leon Wyczółkowski, "U WRÓT CHAŁUBIŃSKIEGO [AT THE CHAŁUBIŃSKI GATE]," c. 1905, pastel on paper, 30 1/2 x 42 1/3 in., National Museum in Kraków](https://www.outdoorpainter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Leon_Wyczolkowski_-_U_Wrot_Chalubinskiego_-_MNK_III-r-696x385.jpg "Painting of the Week: “U Wrót Chałubińskiego”")
In “U Wrót Chałubińskiego,” Leon Wyczółkowski places us at the threshold of the sublime. Painted en plein air at the Chałubiński Gate, a mountain pass in the Tatra Mountains, the pastel captures a fleeting moment of clouds, light, and shadow that evokes both awe and intimacy.
Making art is a revelatory experience that requires wrestling with principles and practices involved in painting a canvas which reveals the quality of expression that comes as the hard-won physical product of who we are as human beings known as artists. So, what do we gain as artists who use AI, and what are we willing to lose?
Print & Digital Edition
Digital Extended Edition