Painting Demonstrations & Art Tips

Deborah Tilby takes us through her process for the landscape painting “Prairie Snow.” She says, "Even at a very young age, I would notice light and shadow, texture, and color, but almost without realizing I was doing it."

In this excerpt from "Beautiful Landscape Painting Outdoors: Mastering Plein Air," Michael Chesley Johnson explains how to finish a painting, and three tricks to help you decide if it's complete.

This week, we've been learning how to paint landscapes and more from this year's esteemed Acrylic Live line-up of teachers. Here's one of our favorite tips so far, coming from Ann Larsen, who says, "I strive to create a feeling of time and place in each painting."

Right now we're seeing up-close-and-personal presentations during Acrylic Live, an online art conference unlike any other.

In this demonstration from PleinAir Magazine, we see how Beth Bathe uses water-mixable oils to create the tonal landscape painting, "Pipkas Cottage."

On Making the Switch From Watercolor to Pastel Painting > Jill Stefani Wagner, who is on the faculty of the 2026 Plein Air Convention ...

The 6th Annual Watercolor Live came to an end recently, wrapping up with even more of today’s best watercolor artists sharing all of their...

This week at Watercolor Live, Italian artist Massimiliano Iocco painted for us a street scene from the village of Tagliacozzo, Italy.

This week we're seeing up-close-and-personal presentations during Watercolor Live, an online art conference unlike any other.

Watch and interact with world-renowned artists as they demonstrate their skills at Watercolor Live this week. We'll see plein air favorites such as ...

In this step-by-step landscape painting demonstration, Kyle Buckland walks us through the evolution of "May Along the Creek" — from its first energetic marks to the final refinements that hold the viewer’s eye.

Keep your compositions fresh and lively by applying the mantra “same same, bad bad.”

ICYMI: Dena Peterson had the honor of being one of 125 international artists selected to work on the movie “Loving Vincent.” Here, she shares what she learned by studying Van Gogh’s work.

Negative Painting means that you paint around the areas you want to preserve; Think of it like carving stone, chipping away until only the most precious elements remain.

Because I’ve been painting so long, I use color intuitively. I just “feel” my color. I choose colors automatically and know which ones harmonize or contrast with each other depending on the effect I want. I have long since stored by paint-splattered color wheel deep in a drawer in my studio, ignoring the wealth of information hidden within it. I’m sure I learned all there was to know about color in high school or college, so what is the point?

“All of us, beginners and experienced painters alike, can benefit from a refresher course in the bedrock principles of value and color.” John MacDonald explains more in this overview.

Welcome back to your Plein Air Live highlights! This international online event is taking place now through Saturday, November 8. On Day 2 this year, we saw expert presentations from Ulrich Gleiter, Bill Davidson, Judd Mercer, Keiko Tanabe, Steve Curry, and a live on-air demo with Kyle Ma.

On Day 1 (Thursday) of Plein Air Live this year, we had front-row seats for painting demonstrations from Kevin Macpherson, Kami Mendlik, Cindy Baron, Tom Christopher, Yong Hong Zhong, and Kyle Buckland.

The sixth annual Plein Air Live kicked off this week with our “Essential Techniques Day” on Wednesday, November 5. An annual favorite for painters ...

Now through Saturday, we’re seeing up-close-and-personal presentations during Plein Air Live, an online art conference unlike any other.