Plein Air for Beginners

Insights from plein air painter Beth Bathe, who will be joining us at the 2026 Plein Air Convention & Expo!

We asked some of your favorite plein air artists about their palettes and what colors — and brands — they use to create stunning landscapes.

If you’re new to plein air painting, here are five mistakes you can avoid from the get-go. (A guest blog post by Brienne M. Brown, who shares her "then" and "now" paintings!)

When it comes to designing landscape paintings, artists usually have their own approach to making their paintings work, but there are certain common threads worth noting.

The following is part of a series that will share tips and tricks for plein air painting in winter. Stay tuned for more!

When you’ve been painting landscapes for as long as John Pototschnik, you come across common mistakes that ...

There’s an interesting thing about beauty: it can be found everywhere, if one is tuned to its frequency and actively looking for it.

What’s the best easel for plein air painting? We asked, and you answered! Dozens of artists share what their favorite plein air easels are, including why they’re top choice.

How many colors should you use when painting en plein air? Eric Rhoads answers in this teaser from Plein Air Live.

What's the best umbrella for plein air painting? We asked, and you answered! Here's what artists from our community had to share, including some helpful photos.

Be inspired by the story of Jim and Annie Hames, who created a community through their local plein air painters group, inspired by PACE.

Avoid ending up with a plein air painting that has too many scattered, isolated, small shapes by ...

In this episode of Art School Live with guest host Kathleen Hudson, Suzie Greer Baker breaks down the overwhelming world of plein air gear into practical choices, real-world examples and travel-tested hacks.

New to painting en plein air? Get advice for painting outdoors with this excerpt from the new book “Plein Air Painting Tips and Tales.”

When painting with watercolor en plein air, follow this advice for the best shapes, angles, and experience.

There’s a mental freedom we associate with painting outdoors, but that lightness can easily be juxtaposed with the ...

The medium has become an integral part of how I compose — plunging right in, using my big brush like a saber, bringing to life large, bold subjects with absolutely no need for the careful planning that can turn a painting session into a bore.

To achieve free, direct handling, Hsin-Yao Tseng says it's impor­tant not to ...

Although I still sometimes set up my easel in the snow in early spring, for the past 10 years I’ve increasingly painted wintry landscapes from my car. I’ve become so used to it that I can now work fairly large — as big as a quarter sheet of watercolor paper (11 x 15 inches). It may seem awkward, but I’ve been doing this for so long that it’s actually become one of my favorite places to paint. Here's how I do it, and my advice for plein air painting in winter.

Painting outdoors gives you so many options! Get insider notes from Carrie Curran's advice on "Plein Air Basics."