3 Considerations for Finding the Perfect Place to Paint
A plein air painter shares her quick and dirty tips for finding the perfect place to paint, above ground or below!
What Makes a Landscape Painting Work?
The compelling art of this California oil painter may hold the answers.
Understanding Masses for a Strong Landscape Painting Composition
Discover a practical idea to improve your landscape painting composition and design skills. If you can do this, you stand a good chance of winding up with a strong painting that reads as a design from across the room.
Blank Surface to Beautiful Blossoms: A Step-by-Step Pastel Painting Demo
Follow this step-by-step pastel painting demo to create vibrant landscapes with depth and harmony. Learn tips on sketching, color choices, and layering techniques!
What Is Color Temperature?
Learn how warming up or cooling down areas of your painting can provide unity and balance in your work. Bonus: Includes a step-by-step demo!
Large-Scale Painting Techniques: 3 Problems and How I Solved Them
Explore the art of going big with this insightful case study-driven advice for large-scale painting techniques from plein air painter Christine Lashley.
13 Ways to Get the Most out of Any Painting Workshop
Take advantage of the art workshops you attend — don’t wind up returning home, only to paint the same way you always have in the past. John Hughes shares tips for your next workshop.
15 Ideas for a Painting
An excerpt from Aimee Erickson's book, "Plein Air Techniques for Artists: Principles and Methods for Painting in Natural Light"
5 Ways Digital Tools Can Strengthen Your Plein Air Practice
Artists Mike Hernandez and Tiffanie Mang share tips on how digital painting tools can enhance your plein air practice — making you faster, bolder, and more inventive in the field.
Painting Tutorial: Water-Mixable Oils in Action
In this demonstration from PleinAir Magazine, we see how Beth Bathe uses water-mixable oils to create the tonal landscape painting, "Pipkas Cottage."
How I Paint Trees with Character
Artist Paul Kratter shares three examples of how to paint trees with character by taking artistic license, playing with color, and ...
Packing and Plein Air
For the very adventurous outdoor painter, room — and weight — are crucial things to consider when it comes to packing for plein air. PleinAir Today visited with artist Gary Geraths, who offered up some sage suggestions.
Why Bother Doing Color Studies?
Color is always shifting for plein air painters. What to do? Gavin Glakas explains how he uses color studies when "chasing the light."
Why I Chose Acrylic Over Watercolor
My first love is transparent watercolor on rag paper. But I realized some years ago that using watercolor on site takes not only practice but ...
Rules vs Principles: How to Improve Your Painting Composition
What makes a painting boring versus dynamic? John Hughes shares his list of things to help you understand the underlying principles behind the pesky rules.
8 Painters Share Essential Plein Air Techniques
The sixth annual Plein Air Live kicked off this week with our “Essential Techniques Day” on Wednesday, November 5. An annual favorite for painters ...