Painting Exhibitions and Events

Discover upcoming artist events, art exhibitions, paint-outs, quick draws, Invitationals, and more for plein air artists and collectors.

Plein air events

Mark Your Plein Air Calendar: May Events and Exhibitions

Spring is in full swing, and so are these in-person plein air painting opportunities. Check out these upcoming events from our Artists' and Collectors' Ultimate Guide to Painting Events and Organizations, as well as plein air exhibitions that are on view.

Invitational Illuminates the Twin Cities

Seventeen regional artists from around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, are currently showcasing a vibrant display of plein air paintings during this selling invitational. Where can it be found?

Find Important Information in the Shadows

“If people start looking for color in the shadow, they will see it,” says Mark Fehlman, one of the featured artists at the Plein Air Convention & Expo. “If they stop and look, compare things, and consider what they want to emphasize most, they will get a lot more out of their observations.” How does Fehlman actually accomplish that?
Painting and art retreats

Painting with Friends in the Adirondacks

Wouldn't it be nice to spend a week simply painting in the outdoors, making new friends, and relaxing to evening music? You can. Here's how.

Artists and Kids Paint Bryce Canyon National Park

I was recently invited to be a guest artist at Bryce Canyon National Park during the annual Geology Festival. It is the first time an artist has been invited to present at the event, which is sponsored by the Park Service and the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association. It was my hope that my visit might kick-start a permanent artist-in-residence program there. I think we may have succeeded.

EXHIBITION: McNally at Benicia

New works by watercolorist Samantha McNally will soon be featured at the well-known Benicia Plein Air Gallery in California.
Plein Air Live - BethUllmann

Making Friends and Changing Lives at Plein Air Live

There was more to Plein Air Live than learning how to paint better landscapes...
Painting outdoors

Plein Air Artists of Colorado Fine Art Exhibition

If you find yourself near Durango, Colorado, soon, you can view almost 200 plein air paintings that are on view. See where in this exhibition preview.
Painting Vacations - Fall Color Week 2020

Paint for One Whole Week!

Learn how you can get away and do nothing but paint for an entire week … you deserve it!

“Paint Camp” Exceeds Expectations

Nestled by a beautiful lake with a mountain view and the smell of deep green pines high in the mountains of upstate New York near the Canadian border is a camp for painters, which occurs just once a year. Like a camp for kids, instead of making pot holders and lanyards, adult campers make art… lots of art. Two paintings a day minimum.

California Plein-Air Painting Before 1960

Paintings of the Golden State will be featured in two museum shows until next summer. All of our favorite painters and some new discoveries...

Is Plein Air Coming to a State Fair Near You?

As the movement grows, it certainly could be as evidenced by the Wisconsin State Fair, which added this event in 2017.

Intuitive Draftsman, Innovative Watercolorist: John Marin

The work of John Marin (1870-1953), gets a revelatory new look in an exhibition originating at the Arkansas Arts Center, affording a unique opportunity to see finished watercolors, etchings, and oil paintings reunited with the sketches on which they were based, for the first time outside the artist’s studio.

Waterhouse Wonders

The magnetic works of Hsin-Yao Tseng and George Bodine will grace the walls of Waterhouse Gallery in Santa Barbara this fall. When?
From the Desert Plein Air Association event at Shields Date Garden, December 2022

Your February 2023 Plein Air Events and Deadlines

Take advantage of these in-person and virtual plein air painting opportunities from our special guide!
First Brush of Spring, Plein Air Indiana

Plein Air in Small-Town Indiana

More than 130 artists gathered for this year’s “First Brush of Spring.” Enjoy a recap of the event here, and see who won Best in Show.

On A Mission at Mineral Point

Organizers and participating artists were on a mission in early August 2017 to create award-winning paintings — and a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. The event was certainly fantastic, but only these artists walked away with the coveted prizes.
How to use PanPastels

Highlights From the First-Ever Pastel Live

Welcome to your Daily Highlights from the first-ever Pastel Live virtual art conference! We hope you'll enjoy these favorite moments and demos from this unforgettable event!

The Granite Group

Every year since 2005 an intrepid crew of artists come together from all over California, and beyond, to trek the High Sierras, be inspired, and paint. In the first major installation of 2018, the Harrington Gallery at the Firehouse Arts Center will present “Granite Group: Plein Air Paintings of the High Sierras.” The exhibition opens...

Once-in-a-Lifetime Event or Yearly Conference?

During the week of September 13-17, an unusual event took place in the little town of Midway, Utah.