PleinAir Magazine

Get your PleinAir Magazine digital subscription today and join tens of thousands of artists and collectors who have joined a new plein air movement. Rooted in a deep history, each bi-monthly issue, edited by Kelly Kane, chronicles important events and spotlights today’s master artists, their techniques, the collectors who follow them, as well as the historic artists who came before them.

PLEIN AIR HERITAGE William Blair Bruce (1859-1906)

Can Plein Air Be Defined?

Knowing When to Be Slow & Steady

Caroline Benedicks Bruce (1833-1927)

Painting Directly From Nature • This month, our special report is on the primary editorial focus of the magazine: plein air painting. We offer descriptions of varied approaches to outdoor painting to suggest how artists can individualize their selection of materials and techniques. This survey includes paintings that have recently been selected as semi-final winners in the bimonthly PleinAir Salon competition (www.pleinairsalon.com).

Speaking Through Our Paintings • This widely respected and influential Minnesota artist paints in response to his passionate feelings about both personal and community issues. Through his painting, teaching, and lecturing, he encourages all of us to pursue our passions and maintain high professional standards.

When Exhibits of Plein Air Paintings Became Acceptable • Théodore Rousseau was reluctant to sell his plein air paintings because they might distract attention from his studio work. Eventually, he was persuaded to market those oil paintings as “privileged and exceptional insights into the workings of the artist’s mind”according to the catalogue for a major exhibition of landscapes by the Barbizon School artist.

Markings of a Time & Place • Californian Lissa Nicolaus uses contrasting shadows, layers of color, and interlocking forms to capture moments in time.

What Happens When You Paint in Morocco • Montana artist Aaron Schuerr discovered that painting can open doors better than almost any other activity. It can also have an enormous impact on the painter.

Unifying Expressions in Oil & Acrylic Paintings • This California artist modifies and builds up layers of acrylic paint in ways that make the finished paintings almost indistinguishable from those he creates with water-mixable oils. This gives him more creative freedom and eliminates any misunderstandings about acrylics that might exist among collectors.

Getting to the Fun Part of Painting • Morgan Samuel Price knows that one of the benefits of having a substantial amount of painting experience is the opportunity to get beyond technique and spend more time looking, thinking, and enjoying every new challenge.

Crystallizing Experiences • Reproductions of paintings and amateur artwork by family members can introduce young people to the world of art and inspire them to pursue that interest further. That’s what happened for Woody Cyrus, a Virginia artist who eventually studied with some of the best plein air painters in the country. He is now creating work that inspires others.

No Limits on Pastel Paintings

Painting Concepts, Not Just Locations • Tom Lynch teaches artists to approach plein air painting with an “art reason,” or a concept related to the elements of a scene. Those help him them get beyond reporting the details of specific location and the obvious beauty of a subject.

August/September PleinAir Salon Winners Announced

L.A. Gets a New Plein Air Event

Weather Can’t Stifle Ohio Plein Air Event

Second Year a Second Success in Bath County

In Its Second Year Event Stretches to Two Weeks

Howard Friedland, OPA

WELCOME! • To the Second Annual Ultimate Artists’ & Collectors’ Guide to Plein Air Events & Organizations

What Explains the Growth of Outdoor...