As the days get warmer, many artists—including me!—take their easels outdoors to paint…a practice known as painting en plein air. And each April, dozens of local artists come to historic St. Augustine and its beaches, offering residents a chance to watch art being created live on scene—and add it to their collection!

This event is the annual Plein Air Paint Out, organized by St. Augustine Art Association (STAAA.org), whose gallery at 22 Marine Street hosts a “wet room” where you can purchase one of these collectible plein air artworks—before the paint is even dry. 

Plein air painting became popular at the turn of the nineteenth century. As impressionism emerged in Europe and the US, oil paint became available in easily transported tubes. Many early impressionists painted outdoors and with friends. Museum collections include plein-air works by Monet, Renoir, and others, with fellow artists included in the landscapes.

Today’s plein air painters may use oil, acrylic, watercolor, and/or pastels—which, even used as “dry” media, are also considered paintings. The artwork might be impressionistic, or nearly photo-real, or so expressionist it borders on abstraction. 

Plein air artists face unique challenges, from wind and wet weather to the ever-shifting sun and shadows—it can be a race against time!

You can watch art come together by checking back on an artist over the day. Ask for their card, and when you might see it at the gallery wet room—that is where you can make your purchase. You’ll want to do so quickly—many plein air art collectors come to this event!  

St. Augustine Plein Air Paint Out

April 23 - 27, 2025