Encaustic en Plein Air — It Can Be Done
“Plein air” and “encaustics” are generally not found in the same sentence ... unless Michael Westcott is talking.
Lead Image: All you need to...
Watercolor on Toned Paper
Many watercolorists love the medium because the white of the paper helps illuminate the colors in the pigment. But if you are working outside,...
Minimizing Weight for a Backpack Painting Trip
Aaron Schuerr offered to share his preparations for a solo backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon. Here are the details and the issues he...
Technology Triumphs in Preliminary Step
Rusty Jones is not a raging iconoclast. But he readily abandoned a traditional method of preparation for a painting when his iPhone offered an...
Parting Shot: Any Fencepost Will Do
Wanda Mumm found that there wasn’t much space to set up her easel on the narrow trail along Brooks Falls in Wyoming. So she...
Painting in a Nice Spot — and Winning
Port Wing, Wisconsin, a town of around 350 people, a place that says on its signs that it’s about “Fishing, Farming, and Forestry,” is...
Urban Sketching: Using the Velázquez Palette Outdoors
An extremely limited palette of colors can aid in working quickly outdoors, according to a Chicago-area architect and instructor. How?
Lead Image: “Elgin Academy,” by...
Painter’s Hack: Car Sun Shade
How Karen Ann Hitt made a dazzling painting without being dazzled by bright sunlight.
OPPORTUNITY: Wet Paint Event at Newport Art Museum
Last year 500 paintings were sold in one weekend at Wet Paint, at the Newport Art Museum in Rhode Island. Signups are going on...
Parting Shot: Rock On
Florida artist Cory Wright captured one of her family’s favorite spots while vacationing at their East Tennessee log cabin. She explains the significance of...
OPPORTUNITY: California Art League Gold Medal Exhibition
Daggi Wallace, the judge for the California Art League’s Gold Medal Exhibition, discussed what she’ll be looking for in the entries she’ll soon be...
Kim Carlton Hits a Nerve
Being able to paint faster in the field is a worthy goal, right? Kim Carlton set out on a "Year of Painting Fast" to...
Why This Works: Saving Contrast, Texture, and Detail for the Foreground
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and points out why they...
Parting Shot: Double-Duty Easel
Paint all day, use your easel as a cocktail table at Happy Hour.
Lead Image: Marc Poole found another use for his trusty Strada...
Why This Works: White in Shadow is Darker Than Red in Sunlight
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and points out why they...
Where Will the Sun Come Up?
The answer to the question is undoubtedly the East, but where in relation to the place you are standing, and exactly when will it...
OPPORTUNITY: Painting in Bellingham, Wash.
Just the first 30 artists who sign up for the Downtown Bellingham Plein Air Paint Out will be eligible for this competition, which will...
Dunphy’s Top Ten
Kathleen Dunphy helps many artists through her workshops, and one gem from her instruction recently made the rounds in social media. She agreed to share...
Presenting … the Steering-Wheel Easel
Who hasn't painted in their vehicle, or at least thought about it? But things can get cramped in there. Amanda Williams built an easel...
Why This Works: White Is Not Always White
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and points out why they...