Welcome back to your Plein Air Live highlights! This international online event is taking place now through Saturday, November 8. On Day 2 this year, we saw expert presentations from Ulrich Gleiter, Bill Davidson, Judd Mercer, Keiko Tanabe, Steve Curry, and a live on-air demo with Kyle Ma.
In addition to insightful conversations and the many demos, our attendees are also receiving amazing giveaways from our sponsors, whom we’d like to thank: Blick Art Materials, Rosemary & Co., Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and box N’ paint. (A great place to meet many of our PleinAir sponsors, ask questions, and shop from them in person is in the beautiful Ozarks this May at the Plein Air Convention and Expo!)
Highlights from Day 2 of Plein Air Live
Joining us from Montana, Ulrich Gleiter shared a plein air demo of one of his favorite subjects: the forest. His style of painting can be considered reminiscent of German expressionism and the Russian impressionists.
With the soothing sounds and sights of the ocean in the background, Bill Davidson began his demo explaining the importance of values; he said he even starts a plein air competition painting by first putting down only the values. He then begins adding color, which he explained in detail as he created a work of art.
Painting with gouache en plein air, Judd Mercer led a demo on how to simplify and manage “some pretty intense fall colors” using basic value and color control to get depth in a fall scene.
In her session, Keiko Tanabe said that one of her favorite parts of painting en plein air is wondering around a space to find just the right location to setup, taking into consideration the shade (she filmed on a muggy, 80-degree day in upstate New York), the light that calls to her, or a certain shape, or just the feeling of a place.
“I felt like I was just part of a magical informative fairytale.” ~Judith S., after Keiko’s demonstration
Steve Curry gave a plein air painting demonstration at a Southern California grove of eucalyptus trees using a limited palette. He explained how to create a thumbnail sketch to isolate the scene, and gave an overview of his materials before diving into the landscape painting.
For our last session of the day, Kyle Ma led a live painting demo from our Streamline studio. Kyle was our 14th Annual Plein Air Salon Grand Prize Winner. He says he enjoys painting en plein air because it allows him “to be immersed in the landscape during the process of creating.”
At the end of the day, we stayed gathered around our devices and art supplies and painted together again. One thing’s for sure – we’re having a great time, day and night!
“Such a wonderful day. Thank you for the opportunity to learn from the greats.” ~ Nancy L.
See you soon for Day 3 at PleinAirLive.com!
