Painting Demonstrations & Art Tips

From color to composition, to dealing with the elements, learn from the community of plein air painters with these tips for painting outdoors!

What Is Learned on the Road?

Jeff Markowsky spent about three months on the road, painting America and attending the Plein Air Convention & Expo. Here's what it did for...

“Throwing Gouache Around” on Location

Gary Geraths refers to his technique of using gouache -- or opaque watercolor -- as "throwing it around." In part that's because gouache can...

Painting a 10-Foot-Wide Triptych on Location

Heinley Fine Arts in Taos, New Mexico, recently unveiled a 30 x 120-inch triptych titled "In Memoriam" that Jivan Lee created on location in...

Keeping Bright Colors in Check

Kyle Buckland recently painted along Beaver Dam Creek in the Backbone Rock National Forest in Tennessee and had to adjust his usual bright palette...

Look Closely at the Surface

We begin a new series of close-up details of plein air paintings that can suggest ways of handling oils, watercolors, pastels, and other media...

Recycle Your Laptop as a Plein Air Box

Not sure what to do with that old laptop computer no one can repair or upgrade? Arizona artist Karen McLain came up with a...

Paint the Snow

Californian Kathleen Dunphy has an informative blog in which she offers advice about painting on location. She recently posted some great recommendations for painting...

Being a “Color Interaction” Painter

Virginia artist Ron Boehmer builds layers of saturated oil colors to achieve luminosity in both his plein air and studio paintings. He offers a...

Free Painting Instruction Book

New Zealand artist Richard Robinson will again be joining the Plein Air Convention & Expo; the 2nd annual convention is set for Monterey, California,...

Painting Advice From a Physicist

John D. Cogan, Ph.D. brings a scientist’s understanding of light, color, and atmosphere to the practice of outdoor painting. He shares some of his...

Painting Memories

Plein air paintings often capture more than the outward appearance of the landscape. For Mitch Kolbe, the series of paintings he created over the...

Painting Over “Stinkers”

Living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, requires an outdoor painter to get used to working in deep snow, strong winds, and cold temperatures. Todd LaChance...

Demos From Master Artists: Guido Frick

We just started a series of painting demonstrations by the master artists who will be sharing their ideas and inspiration during the Plein Air...

Demos From Master Artists: Becky Joy

We asked Arizona artist Becky Joy to talk about her luscious, emotionally charged paintings and the way she uses brushes and palette knives to...

Demos From Master Artists

We begin a series of painting demonstrations by the master artists who will be sharing their ideas and inspiration during the Plein Air Convention...

Take a Closer Look at Another Award Winner

One of the landscape paintings that stands out among the semi-finalists selected by Michael Zakian in the September/October PleinAir Salon competition (www.pleinairsalon.com) is “After...

How Was That Prize Winner Painted?

Jim McVicker didn’t go to art school and hasn’t participated in a workshop, yet his still life painting that just won the First Place...
Plein Air Magazine

Painting Nocturnes

It's not unusual for Maryland artist Hiu Lai Chong to spend a total of eight hours developing one of her plein air paintings, either...

Following a Classical Approach

Ryan S. Brown is a gifted young artist who has been offering classical training through the Center for Academic Study and Naturalist Painting (CAS)...