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If you’ve ever wondered how diverse and far-reaching the plein air culture is, look no further than a fantastic three-day event that began today.

32 national artists captured the majestic beauty of the Delaware Valley during the Wayne Art Center’s 2017 Plein Air Festival between May 8-13. We have a recap for you here that includes the talented winners.

It was a proud moment for 10 painters as they took home a collective 14 prizes this spring in Arkansas during this second annual plein air event. Don’t blink, this could be the next big plein air competition!

In last week's newsletter we detailed an exciting event on historic Mackinac Island with important Midwest painter Sharon Griffes Tarr that needs some clarification.

“Morning Commute” Oil on Belgian linen 24 x 30 in. Born and raised in South Carolina, Trey Finney attended the College of Charleston from 1981 to 1983....

“Kicking up Dirt” 18 x 22 in. Pastel on Anthracite Pastelmat $1,500 Tobi’s mother always said she needed eyes in the back of her head to keep up...

Nearly $20,000 in cash and museum purchase awards are available this year for the 56th exhibition of Watercolor USA — a national, annual juried exhibition recognizing aqueous media painting. When does it open and where?

This week, I will follow up on my article from the last issue of PleinAir Today, titled “Three Important Skills Every Landscape Painter Needs.” In this segment I begin to explain some of the concepts that are recommended as a map for studying landscape painting. In my workshops, I do this as a Power Point presentation, but I’ll attempt to explain it here in a few paragraphs.

Who says summer camp is only for kids?! PleinAir magazine’s Eric Rhoads is inviting YOU to the Publisher’s Invitational Painters Camp in New York’s stunning Adirondack Mountains this June. There are only a few spots still available, so don’t wait!

The 24th Annual Carmel Art Festival was a tough competition for judge Mian Situ. No surprise given the fact the event each year draws the best artists from California and beyond. Who were the honorees in 2017?

Robert C. Rigsby, Jr. has brought new meaning to extreme plein air, as the artist spent much of 2016 trying to paint each of our nation’s 59 national parks in observance of their 100th anniversary. Did he reach his goal? His amazing story is here!

In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and points out why they succeed as painted images. This week, Nancy Woods Daniel’s “Blythe Ferry Winter Day.”

Heavy downpours and otherwise uncooperative weather couldn’t keep a record-setting group of 156 artists from making the most of the 15th annual Augusta Plein Air Festival in Augusta, Missouri, this spring. Who were triumphant? Your recap is here.

Louisville, Kentucky, is an area rich with hypnotic plein air views and artistic talent. In 2017, the painting theme for the Plein Air Painters of Kentucky was “Architecture in Landscape,” and several of the group’s recent pictures feature during this exhibition.

A fantastic opportunity awaits the astute outdoor painter in Utah this fall as the Escalante Canyons Art Festival launches its 2017 workshop schedule. So much to learn! So much to paint! Details here.

A welcome wind was grazing my face on a blisteringly hot summer day as I began to scout out my perfect plein air spot for the day. Most importantly, however, it was away from everyone — in a spot so remote that there was no chance anyone would walk by.

So beloved was Tommy Macaione to his chosen hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico, that after his death in 1992 a bronze statue of him painting en plein air was erected in a downtown park. When was the last time you saw a bronze statue of a plein air painter? Maybe one exists in Giverny, the Fontainebleau Forest, or possibly the Laguna coast, but I have not heard tell of one. What made this artist so worthy of a statue?

Do you remember how I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve been “eaten” by the plein air bug? Well, since my attendance at the Plein Air Convention & Expo in San Diego and with some sage advice from a good friend, I decided to give this plein air thing a try. How did it turn out?

The moment was golden for several artists during the award ceremony for “GILDED: Impressions of the Flagler Era” — a plein air exhibition in St. Augustine, Florida, that featured works produced during a 10-day citywide paint-out in April. Who took home hardware?

It was just last year that a woman from Georgia contacted painter Robert Hagberg with regard to possibly commissioning a painting. But it’s the story that unfolded after hat you’ll find especially interesting.