Gilkerson’s 7 Crucial Plein Air Tips
South Carolina artist Mary Bentz Gilkerson paints arresting, vibrant plein air paintings with significant impasto. It takes a bold brush to do that. She...
Facebook Live Series: Michele Byrne “Palette Knife Painting” **FREE VIEWING**
In this broadcast, watch and learn from Michele Byrne as she shows you how adding a palette knife to your tool kit will allow you to paint in a new way that will make people leap up and take notice!
PleinAir Tip: Sketch Quickly
When painting outdoors, it is important that you capture this piece first.
How to Start a Plein Air Group, Part 1
We often hear of successful plein air painting societies and associations, but what if you don’t live ...
Painting Wrecks in England
The trim lines of well-designed boats are catnip for painters, but the rusting hulks of wrecked ships have their appeal as well. Steven Alexander...
How Plein Air Groups Get Museum Shows
An exhibition at a regional museum is a marketing coup — but how does it happen?
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...
Impressionism, Sorolla, and the Color of Light
Seeing, understanding, and learning how to use color temperature in your work can elevate a so-so painting into a work of art.
What the Rocks Tell Us: Artist/Geologists in the American West
In this series of articles, Utah artist J. Brad Holt talks about what artists are seeing as they look at the landscape. Holt studied...
Why This Works: Diffused Light, Balance of Careful Rendering and Looseness
- Jeanne Mackenzie reporting -
In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and...
Painting 5”-x-7” Oils on Paper
New York painter Amy DiGi has some reasons for painting in oil on 5”-x-7” sheets of paper. And they all make sense.
Lead Image:...
Travel Sketching: Tips for Keeping an Art Journal
From 2015 to 2018, Ivan Chow made trips to and around Istanbul, Turkey, sketching many scenes along the way. In this excerpt from his upcoming book, "Travel Sketching: Drawing Insights from Istanbul," he shares one of his favorite formats for drawing on location.
Joseph McGurl: You Know You’re An Artist When …
Joseph McGurl shares five secret practices that might seem off-the-wall to others, but have become completely normal for him.
Accepting the Challenge of Painting Skies
Tomas Honz has an impressive body of work focusing on various sky conditions. It was not done without a fair amount of adversity.
Why This Works: Solid Tree in Foreground Offers Entry and Rest
- 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 Get Published in Plein Air Today
We love to feature readers such as yourself in Plein Air Today. Here's how to be a part of an upcoming newsletter!
Puddles: Water and Light
Robert Bashford likes painting puddles. If you think about it, that’s brilliant. Why?
Lead Image: “The Muddy Bikers,” by Robert Bashford, oil, 10 x...
Free Mini-Lesson: Can You Use a Putty Knife for Painting?
Watch as Douglas Fryer shows you how to use an unconventional tool for painting, including how he "triple loads" it with color.
Suggesting Detail in 75 Minutes, Step by Step
Brazilian painter Marcelo Romani Borges de Araujo agreed to share with our readers some photos of a painting in its various stages, and a...
Pursuing Artful Simplicity
Ernie Dollman’s work shows an aesthetic that appreciates simplicity. We asked him how he achieves success in boiling down scenes to their essence. Here’s...