The 6th Annual Plein Air Live wrapped up after several days of camaraderie, workshops, paint-along sessions, and learning from the masters. Day 3 demonstrations featured Carla Bosch, Alex Kelly, Matthew White, Greg Barnes, Melanie Barash Levitt, Kathleen Hudson, and a bonus session with Albert Handell. Here’s a recap of the fun and amazing last day in case you missed it!
“Five stars, and it gets better every year, even when you can not imagine how.” ~ Nancy L.
Highlights from Day 3 of Plein Air Live
Plein air favorite Albert Handell joined us from the studio to lead an abstracted landscape demo using pastel (but starting with a simple line drawing and a watercolor underpainting), so we could follow each stroke and color choice along the way.
Sharing her knowledge from almost 30 years of working with acrylic, Carla Bosch led a plein air demo alongside a creek. Here, she’s applying the finishing touches to her work.
Alex Kelly took us through the process of how he creates a plein air painting from start to finish, keeping in mind some key principles that he breaks down into stages, and that can be applied to any painting subject.
Matthew White, from Kansas City, Missouri, joined us for a step-by-step plein air painting demonstration with a footbridge leading to a green, tree-dotted slope. Matt said that the first thing he does when he sets up to paint on location is to take a photo reference, capturing the original scene before various elements change – such as clouds or passersby.
Joining us from Rockport, Massachusetts, Greg Barnes led a pastel demo on capturing light and atmosphere by painting a backlit marsh scene with a winding river leading into the distance.
Painting with the gorgeous fall foliage views of New Hampshire, Melanie Barash Levitt gave a palette knife demonstration. As she wrapped up the painting, Melanie explained that she was careful to keep the shadow and light areas separate and defined.
Joining us from the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Kathleen Hudson led a plein air demo that covered mountain aspects such as changing atmosphere, jagged rock edges, light and shadows, color mixing – all of the basics of painting, but with a focus on doing it in a high alpine environment.
The next Plein Air Live takes place in September 2026, but you don’t have to wait that long to join many of your fellow painters, including today’s best teachers. Join us in person at the Plein Air Convention & Expo in the Ozarks of Missouri, May 14-18, 2026. Andrew Tischler (oil), Thomas W. Schaller (watercolor), and Carrie Curran (plein air basics) are leading the pre-convention workshops. There are multiple stages and dozens of instructors and field painters providing guidance every day. We’ll be there – will you?
