Meet the Artists

Plein Air Invitational

Meet Our 2024 Plein Air Artists!


  • Natalia Andreeva

    Natalia Andreeva

    “I prefer a personal experience of my subjects, painting landscapes, portraits, still life on location; and I follow my mood in choosing the motive. I love color. I believe it is power, it burns, it cools, it speaks, it is part of the spell.”

  • A middle-aged man with a beard and mustache wearing a black quarter-zip sweater standing in an artist's studio with paintings and art supplies visible in the background.

    Andras Bality

    “…trying to make good paintings, which involves an idea and enough familiarity with the materials at hand into a visually compelling state of being determines whether I succeeded or not.”

  • A smiling man wearing an orange baseball cap and a green jacket outdoors near a marshy area.

    Greg Barnes

    I consider myself a contemporary landscape impressionist, relying heavily on intuition when searching for subject matter. Contrast, movement, and light attract me, and a bold use of color often punctuates my style.

  • A woman painting outdoors in a field with tall grass, wearing a red cap, gray hoodie, and blue jeans, using an easel and standing next to a backpack and a plastic container.

    Alison Barry

    “I paint outside because unexpected things happen. I begin with a strong idea of light and composition, but light, weather, and life are always in motion.”

  • A smiling middle-aged woman with white hair wearing a navy blue sleeveless dress, standing in front of a wall with framed paintings of seagulls and a beach scene.

    Coakley Brown

    “I see with a sense of wonder that overflows into my paintings. I find treasure in the overlap of things convention tells us to separate.”

  • A man painting outdoors in a forest, wearing a gray knit beanie, glasses, a navy blue jacket, and blue gloves, standing in front of an easel with a purple canvas.

    Kyle Buckland

    Today, his style of painting, which is deeply rooted in the fundamental philosophies regarding Impressionism, is as unique as his subject matter is inviting.

  • A man wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, sunglasses, and a white shirt stands outdoors near a river with trees in the background. He is smiling and has a painting of a red train on a bridge displayed on an easel beside him.

    Doug Clarke

    “A great painting for me invokes an emotion and a story that leaves the viewer finishing the narrative with their own imagination.”

  • A man standing outdoors by a riverbank with a white umbrella shaded overhead. He holds a cloth and wears gloves. A small painting setup with a palette, brushes, and a partially completed painting of the river scene is nearby.

    Trey Finney

    “ For me, painting is the combination of vision and knowledge. The application of the artist’s knowledge about painting while under the influence of the subject.”

  • A woman with shoulder-length black hair smiling, wearing a black top and a gray patterned jacket, standing indoors near a framed photo or artwork on the wall.

    Hema Gupta

    “My goal is to capture the mood and essence of a place or person in a manner that evokes an emotional response from the viewer. I aim to keep my paintings loose and fresh.”

  • A smiling middle-aged man with gray hair wearing glasses on his head and a blue fleece jacket with the logo 'PleinAir Magazine,' standing inside a house with orange walls and religious crosses on the wall.

    Joe Gyurcsak

    “It is my hope that the viewer should lose their awareness of the boundaries of the painting. I am after the fleeting moments of life, those moments that happen sometimes in a quick glance!”

  • Woman wearing a wide beige hat with a decorative band, smiling, with a cloudy sky background.

    Kim Hall

    “I love the freedom of wandering those backroads and coming upon the perfect spot to pull over and set up my easel. It’s a good balance with the sanctuary of my studio.”

  • A woman standing outside, holding a paint palette and a paintbrush, with a partially completed landscape watercolor painting on an easel.

    Catherine Hillis

    “My paintings can be described as traditional, but I try to use my unique perspective to draw the viewer into the world as I see it, incorporating humor or beauty whenever possible.”

  • An elderly man with white hair wearing a yellow shirt and an apron standing next to an outdoor painting setup, holding a paintbrush in front of a landscape painting on a wooden panel, surrounded by plants and greenery.

    Neal Hughes

    ”To work as an artist is one of the greatest gifts I enjoy in this life. Art should elevate the everyday and ordinary and allow us to see beauty that might otherwise be missed.”

  • Close-up photo of a smiling man with glasses and a beard, outdoors in a forest with tall trees and green foliage.

    Fred Jackson

    “As a plein air painter, I am most inspired by the felt moods and patterns that the natural and cultural landscapes evoke in me.”

  • A middle-aged man with glasses and a gray beard looking serious, outdoors with trees and flowering bushes in the background, holding a paintbrush.

    Russell Jewell

    “Contemplate a simple black square. It is a window to everything in the world…therefore, regardless of the subject or medium, all that matters is light.”

  • A man smiling outdoors, standing behind a table with vibrant pink and purple flowers in pots and decorative lanterns, with a colorful background of flags and trees.

    Jim Laurino

    “Oil Painting is something I’ve done since I was in my early teens. I enjoy the impressionists foremost… my style and chosen subject matter reflects that.”

  • Mural of bees flying among blue sky and white clouds, with a man in sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat standing in front.

    Matt Lively

    “Plein air is a performative collaboration between the location, natural environment, the materials and me. My hope is that the object will elicit the feeling of the whole experience.”

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with long gray hair, wearing a black and white floral top, outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Lynn Mehta

    “My vivid, textured oil paintings characterized by interpretive impressionism, my art is a reflection of my connection to the ever-changing visual world around me”

  • A man painting a water lily pond scene outdoors near a lake with trees in the background. The painting is set on an easel, and the man is standing next to a small table with painting supplies.

    KC Rajendra

    “I am a person who likes to catch nature at its best; it helps me get the right color combination. And plein air is all about the painting being live.”

  • A man with a beard, wearing glasses, a beige cap, and a plaid shirt, standing on a rocky shoreline with the ocean and a clear blue sky in the background.

    Jim Rehak

    An artist’s response to nature, light and everything around us can be expressed in paint… and each artist’s response is unique.

  • A woman in a floral dress and a wide-brimmed hat is drawing with chalk on an easel outside a shop. She is smiling and has a box of colorful chalks in front of her.

    Orit Reuben

    “I am a pastel impressionist painter. My main aspiration is to paint light. I consider myself a sunny-day painter and love painting outdoors to fully experience my surroundings with all of my senses.” 

  • A smiling woman wearing glasses, a white and blue cap, and a blue tank top, standing outdoors in front of an easel displaying a landscape painting of a pathway through trees with green foliage.

    Julie Riker

    “I am primarily an observational painter, painting mostly from life, and often outside ‘en plein air’. Painting in one session, “Alla prima” keeps the surface fresh..”

  • A woman painting a watercolor picture outdoors in a garden, with painting supplies and a finished artwork nearby.

    Marilyn Rose

    “I think of watercolor as the intersection of craft and magic, and it is the magic which fascinates me…the places where things meet: paint and paper; light and shadow; reality and abstraction.”

  • An older man with gray hair and a beard, wearing a gray t-shirt, is focused on painting on a canvas outdoors. He has sunglasses hanging from his shirt collar and is surrounded by greenery and a brick building in the background.

    John Brandon Sills

    “Art is the external expression of an internal experience. To demonstrate this awareness, rather than painting light on things, I paint the light that became things.”

  • A woman with short black hair smiling outdoors, wearing a maroon quilted jacket, a patterned scarf, and carrying a camera.

    Radhika Srinivas

    “I love to paint En Plein Air for the immediacy and spontaneity of capturing the essence of what I see. Striving to capture the mood and atmosphere of the scene in a quick impressionistic style is what excites me the most.”

  • A smiling woman with short gray hair, wearing a gray vest and colorful scarf, stands in front of an abstract landscape painting.

    Nancy Tankersley

    “You spend a lot of time learning your craft —drawing, mixing color — but you don’t become an artist until you start dealing in intangibles where you feel the wind and hear the noise in a painting”

  • A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling, taking a selfie in front of a framed landscape painting with trees and a horse grazing.

    Mary Veiga

    “My work begins by seeking enlightenment through nature. Themes of inspiration and hope with inner peace and belonging are intentional in my expressions.”

  • A woman standing outdoors holding paintbrushes, with an easel and a container of brushes, near a large stone fountain and colorful garden plants in the background.

    Durre Waseem

    “I feel that now I only take charge of selecting a subject and my painting leads me through the process.”

  • A woman with short black hair smiling and holding a paintbrush, standing next to an easel with a painting of pink water lilies on water.

    Vicky Zhou

    ”I love to see if I can capture the stories that unfold around me and the effects of constantly changing light and weather in unfamiliar places.”

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

— Pablo Picasso