Innholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2025 i PleinAir Magazine

When I’m painting, I often challenge myself with the question: “What if?” It’s this curiosity that drives me to explore unknown territory — to seek out new, sometimes mysterious places in my work and imagination. Recently, I moved to St. Augustine, Florida, where the sight of the ocean for the first time in 45 years unexpectedly sparked a number of new and exciting “what ifs.” Inspired by Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910) and Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858), I became intrigued by the idea of painting the ocean at night. That interest only deepened in late summer 2024, when I witnessed both a blue moon and a supermoon lighting up the Atlantic. Despite its name, a blue moon doesn’t actually turn blue; it’s simply the second full moon to occur within a single…

JUNE Judge’s Comments: “A great example of making the ordinary extraordinary, this painting almost immediately secured First Place. I found the variety of marks, edges, and negative shapes so compelling.” Judge’s Comments: “This piece doesn’t just showcase the artist’s ability, it provides a narrative. The veil symbolizes something important, and it’s up to the viewer to figure out what that means to them.” Judge’s Comments: “This plein air landscape is a master-class in one of the most important tenets I’ve found in creative expression: variation. Every leaf and flower has its own identity; no shape or color repeats exactly.” JUNE “BEST OF” CATEGORY AWARDS The 15th annual PleinAir Salon consists of 11 monthly contests from April 2025 to February 2026. The awards will be presented in May 2026 at the…

E-mail: bericrhoads@gmail.com Phone: 512.607.6423 Facebook: /ericrhoads X: @ericrhoads Time moves like light across a landscape — imperceptibly at first, and then suddenly everything has changed. It feels like just a month since I put away the Christmas decorations, and soon I’ll be digging through my garage to put them up again. Inevitably I’ll be distracted by stacks of old easels and boxes of paintings that transport me back to painting trips past. These artifacts tell a story that today’s young artists can barely imagine. FROM WASTELAND TO RENAISSANCE When PleinAir Magazine launched, we were pioneers in a creative wasteland. Three, maybe four, plein air events existed worldwide. Workshops were nearly impossible to find. Painting outdoors was so rare it seemed eccentric. Custom panels and easels? We made our own. The…

The last time Liz Haywood-Sullivan taught a workshop in Venice, in October 2024, the city was battered by incessant rainstorms. Still, she and her 10 students were determined to paint on location. Fortunately, the artist found a covered walkway near the opera house that offered protection from the downpour. “It was right at a confluence of canals that tourists ride through in gondolas,” she recalls. “All the gondoliers coming by were singing or playing accordions, so we were being serenaded by wonderful music. Of course, we were all taking pictures and videos. At the same time, the tourists were marveling at us — pointing and snapping photos of all these artists standing at their easels. It was hilarious.” This was Haywood-Sullivan’s third trip to Venice as an instructor, each organized…

Why I paint outside: Painting outdoors requires managing a number of moving parts. Sure, it’s about seeing light, form, and space — but it’s also about dealing with the unexpected. Sudden weather changes, cars parked in the wrong spot, or the thrill of finding a fresh perspective on a familiar place — learning to adapt to those surprises has been indispensable to my process. What catches my eye: I certainly look for clear light and interesting compositions, but honestly, the world is so full of paintable subjects that I’ve learned to trust my intuition. Aha moment: Recently I discovered the power of scale. Large shapes and broad, simple brushstrokes make precise or detailed passages more striking — like how warm and cool tones enhance each other. Opposites make the work…

JULY Judge’s Comments: “The solidity of an everyday urban scene is secondary to the beautiful, ephemeral atmospherics. Brilliant editing, brush-work, composition, light, color, and the illusion of space and perspective make this painting simply brilliant.” Judge’s Comments: “Coupled with a strong, expertly portrayed narrative, the dialogue of contrasts is particularly effective here. Light and dark, vertical and horizontal, warm and cool, stillness and expansiveness — all are so well composed.” Judge’s Comments: “Exquisite technique may not be sufficient for a work to excel. But when high skill level is coupled with elevated taste and sensibility, as is the case here, magic can happen.” JULY “BEST OF” CATEGORY AWARDS JULY HONORABLE MENTIONS EXPANDED DIGITAL EDITION CONTENT…

kelly@pleinairmagazine.com outdoorpainter.com facebook.com/pleinairmagazine x.com/pleinairmag Instagram.com/pleinairmag One of my favorite parts of editing PleinAir Magazine is that I get to see the full sweep of this community — from seasoned masters who’ve been painting outdoors for decades to beginners setting up an easel for the first time. But, like Eric, I’ve been thinking a lot about the next generation lately. Who are the artists in their 20s and 30s who will carry plein air painting forward? That’s why I found putting together this year’s roundup of promising young painters especially gratifying. My picks are inventive, courageous, and deeply connected to the world around them. Their work reminds me that plein air painting has never been about standing still. It’s always been about experimenting and looking at the landscape with fresh eyes.…

Making art is an exhilarating journey, calling for decision after decision until the final image takes form. But when that journey unfolds in the open air, absorbed in nature, things can get wild. Working outdoors demands more than technique, however. It requires curiosity, courage, and a willingness to step into the unexpected. Under these conditions, plein air painters create art in ways that aren’t always predictable or comfortable. Such is the case with Freya Grand, who has devoted her life’s work to capturing remote landscapes and the raw forces of the natural world. A LEGACY OF EXPLORATION That same impulse to explore guided 19th-century Hudson River School painter Frederic Church, who, under the tutelage of his mentor Thomas Cole, honed both his craft and his reverence for nature. Venturing beyond…