A 260-Mile Plein Air Relay
Is it possible to participate in two distant plein air events in the same week? This ambitious artist pushes the limits to find out. Bonus: Includes a list of tips for your next plein air event!
Friends Painting in the Minnesota Snow
Minnesota artist Jim Henley snapped photographs of his painting companions, Diane LaMere and Derek Davis, when the three artists were deep in snow along...
What the Orwicks Found During Their Yearlong, International Art Journey
- Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today -
Oregon painter Michael Orwick and his wife and daughter have been back home for about two months...
Where in the World Is Plein Air?
Today, no matter where you are, you can watch dozens of outdoor painters bring their works to fruition.
One Spin…Trip of a Lifetime
"What a full-on adrenaline rush." Mike Bonar on winning the New Zealand painting trip on the PACE prize wheel, and his reflections on this trip of a lifetime.
Urban Sketchers: Focus on People
Angie Hauch of Urban Sketchers Chicago used her skills as an animator to help artists become more comfortable with sketching the bustling people of...
Giant New Zealand Mosquitoes?
A travelogue about the recent Publisher’s Invitational Painters’ Trip to New Zealand, by Eric Rhoads of PleinAir Magazine
Blending Plein Air Paintings with Real Life
We recently discovered Marcelo Rocha on Instagram when he posted a surprising video from a plein air session. You have to see it to believe it, so watch here.
Before You Go to the Top of the World…
- Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today -
Cory Trépanier recently posted a YouTube video of his expedition to Aulavik National Park in the Arctic...
How Do You ‘#PaintItForward’?
Outdoor painting is so much more than a creative outlet—it’s a way to connect with nature, form lifelong relationships, and expose passers-by to an exciting cultural phenomenon. Discover how one ascending watercolorist is using his talents to give back to the community he captures in so many beautiful ways.
Fill in the Blank: If I Could Paint Anywhere …
Close your eyes and imagine ... if you could choose any place in the world, with no limits or consequences, where would you paint?
New Year’s Day Paint-Out in Nevada
Two members of the Reno-Tahoe Plein Air Painters welcomed the new year by painting at the wetlands at the base of Slide Mountain. Take...
Painting a NASA Telescope
Joanna Barnum says her plein air painting experience allowed her to make a successful watercolor under the tight schedule allowed by NASA recently at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
Sometimes You Have to Get Wet to Find Your Inspiration
If you are in search of the perfect plein air experience and that all-important inspired location to paint, sometimes you must be willing to leave the beaten path and get your feet wet!
A Muddy Marsh Adventure
Plein air painter Kip Bradley is painting six marsh locations around Savannah, Georgia over the course of a year to document coastal changes.
Schuerr’s Final Report: “It Was Crazy Hard Work”
A few weeks ago, we talked with Montana artist Aaron Schuerr about his preparations for a solo painting and backpacking trip from rim to...
Touring National Parks, En Plein Air
Robert C. Rigsby, Jr. has brought new meaning to extreme plein air, as the artist spent much of 2016 trying to paint each of our nation’s 59 national parks in observance of their 100th anniversary. Did he reach his goal? His amazing story is here!
Plein Air Painting — On a Boat!
Watch a video clip of Debra Huse painting while on a boat and using a custom “rod-pochade.”
Finding the Perfect View in Big Sur
- Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today -
Laurel Sherrie saw a great view in a newspaper — an eminently paintable view — and she...
Plein Air Travels
Long stretches of highway and wide breadths of landscape have dominated our summer. This body of work represents thousands of miles traveled, a half dozen mountain ranges, and countless good times in between. The following is an account of just one such trip, from Billings, Montana, to Paradise Valley, Bozeman, and back again.