Hello from Hilton Head!

Eric Rhoads at Winter Art Escape — Our host, Eric Rhoads, squinting in the bright sunlight of the southeast

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The second annual Winter Art Escape was a spectacular success—and our largest Publisher’s Invitational to date! We were thrilled to welcome a diverse group of artists, with an amazing 50% new people joining us this year on Hilton Head Island and the surrounding areas.

Winter Art Escape in front of the Georgia Queen Riverboat — Our 2026 Winter Art Escape group in front of the Georgia Queen Riverboat

This year’s retreat offered unparalleled opportunities for artistic growth, including one-on-one painting sessions with Eric.

Despite frigid temperatures gripping much of the country (where it was 2 degrees +/-), our group enjoyed significantly warmer weather, painting en plein air in a stunning setting. We explored and captured the beauty of historic parks, mansions, boats, marinas, and lighthouses, and even managed to paint on the beach and other beautiful areas.

Here are just a few of our favorite moments from this year’s Winter Art Escape:

Special access on the Georgia Queen Riverboat, which has three grand ballrooms on board.

One painter's setup outside of the Georgia Queen — One painter’s setup outside of the Georgia Queen

Friends during a paint-out at the Winter Art Escape — Friends during a paint-out

Plein air painting on the beach; it was chilly, but still warmer than most of the country!

Set up for plein air painting on Hilton Head Island during Winter Art Escape — Painting just outside of the Hilton Head resort during Winter Art Escape

We had a variety of locations to paint during Winter Art Escape

We did stop painting sometimes to eat. :) — We did stop painting sometimes to eat. 🙂

We even had indoor sessions with a live model

And time to spend together as a group, getting to know each other, building community - and new lifelong friendships. — And time to spend together as a group, getting to know each other, building community – and new lifelong friendships.

The combination of focused instruction, inspiring locations, and wonderful company made the 2026 Winter Art Escape an unforgettable experience. We can’t wait to see what next year brings! Will you be there?

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Don’t miss your opportunity to create lifetime memories at PACE! The next Plein Air Convention & Expo is May 14-18, 2026 in The Ozarks. All training sessions are indoors on giant, high-def screens, with plein air paint-outs in the afternoons. Beginners and pros feel right at home, so register now to join us!