Why This Works: Supporting the Star Player
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, Kurt Jacobson’s “DeLong Lake, Alaska.”
What It Takes to Paint Snow in Northern Ontario
Christy A. Smith loves winter, and it’s a good thing, because she lives in Sudbury, Ontario in Canada, where the average low temperature in January is below zero. She especially likes painting snow, and some of her snow paintings are now on view in a special exhibition.
Why This Works: X Marks the Resting Spot
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, Jean-Pierre Jacquet’s “Benched.”
Why This Works: Large Bold Shapes Suggest Abstraction
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, she discusses Don Bishop’s “September Flower Farm.”
Why This Works: Foreground Chamisa Strengthens Focal Point
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, she discusses Joe Anna Arnett’s “Trestle.”
Why This Works: Composing in a Square Format
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, Clark Mitchell’s “Passing Storm.”
Why This Works: Careful Drawing, With a Twist
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, Dan Graziano’s “Autumn in the Village.”
Why This Works: Communicating the Quietness of a Scene
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, Colleen Parker’s “Bend in the River.”
Why This Works: Leading the Viewer Into and Around the Scene
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, Chaya Schapiro.
Jane Hunt’s Award-Winning Approach to Sunsets
Jane Hunt’s painting of North Boulder Pond titled “August Sunset” recently won the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico’s 2016 Summer Nights Contest. Her approach: Preparation allows intuitive painting in fleeting light.
Why This Works: Skewing Things a Bit to Add Energy and Movement
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Why This Works: Monochromatic Look Evokes Atmosphere
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Fugitives in the Golden Age of Pigmentology
- Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today -
A recent e-newsletter from an art materials manufacturer shone the spotlight on alizarin crimson, a paint that’s...
Why This Works: Intense Sun in a Relatively Low Key
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Why This Works: It’s All About Composition
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Why This Works: Using Edges to Guide the Viewer’s Eyes
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Why This Works: Variety of Greens and Colorful Shadows
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Why This Works: Color Harmony Through Secondary Triad
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
How to Stay Cool(er) in Arches National Park
- Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today -
The temperature often exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer in Arches National Park in Utah. But...
How to Paint a 4′ Canvas Outdoors in One Session
- Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today -
Bob Matheson paints big on location, and he nearly completes it in one session. What’s his approach?...