On Day 1 (Thursday) of Plein Air Live this year, we had front-row seats for painting demonstrations from Kevin Macpherson, Kami Mendlik, Cindy Baron, Tom Christopher, Yong Hong Zhong, and Kyle Buckland, and we have attendees from 16 countries — including Finland, Scotland, Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, and Tanzania — and participants from all 50 states of the USA.
This is our sixth annual Plein Air Live – an event that’s become a lifeline for so many artists. “Today marks the beginning of a journey where you’ll strengthen your skills, elevate the quality of your paintings, and truly shine as an artist,” said our CEO and Publisher, Eric Rhoads. “My goal is simple — to help you become a better painter, to guide your growth, and to inspire you to reach that next level in your art.”
Speaking of inspiration, many of us will be meeting in person in the beautiful Ozarks of Missouri at the next Plein Air Convention and Expo, May 14-18, 2026. We hope to see you there! In the meantime, here’s a glimpse at what we learned yesterday:
Highlights from Day 1 of Plein Air Live
“As a pre-requisite for an enduring art career, artists must to do everything possible to keep their curious spirit alive,” began Kevin Macpherson. He shared a plein air watercolor demonstration from Qing Dao, China, explaining his magic grid system.
Capturing the early morning light and mood of a backlit marsh in Stillwater, Minnesota, Kami Mendlik painted a landscape and focused on three shapes in particular, explaining how their colors are relative to each other on the canvas.
Painting along the marshy edge of a bay at a public park, Cindy Baron began her demo by simply wetting the substrate with Gamsol, explaining that this allows her to move the paint around on the canvas more freely. We saw this in action when she started the underpainting with her favorite color – transparent red oxide.
Pastel artist Tom Christopher painted on the shore of the Iowa River to share his techniques for a textured underpainting using acrylic with the application of pastel on top.
“Most of the time when you’re plein air painting, there’s a lot going on and you can get caught up in all the details,” said watercolorist Yong Hong Zhong, who gave a beginning-to-end demonstration overlooking the Columbia Gorge near Portland, Oregon.
We ended the night with another favorite – the Paint Along Cocktail Hour. Always entertaining and inspiring, we’ll look forward to more this week. You can still join us and even catch the replays for sessions you missed! Visit PleinAirLive.com now.
And, come paint and learn with us all IN PERSON, including Eric, Kelly, me, and so many of today’s best plein air painters at the Plein Air Convention and Expo in the beautiful Ozarks of Missouri, May 14-18, 2026. We have exciting things in store, so don’t miss it!
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