Plein Air Oil Painting Demo with Marike MacDonald

What IS Plein Air Painting?

En plein air is a French expression meaning “in the open air”, and refers to the act of painting outdoors with the artist’s subject in full view. Plein air artists capture the spirit and essence of a landscape or subject by incorporating natural light, color and movement into their works.

Date: May 23rd, 2025

Location: Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park | Participants should meet at the parking lot at the main gate.

Time: 1:30PM TO 3:30PM – MEET AT 1:15PM

Cost: $25

Audience: Ages 15+

Attire: Dress for being outside.

NOTE: This workshop is subject to inclement weather.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Marike will work up a painting from start to finish (hopefully) using oil paint from the scene in front of her while explaining her process and answering questions.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

born and raised in South Western Ontario. Her early years involved the discovery of meadows, woodlands, farm and animal life. She showed an early propensity for drawing and longed to paint. Family resources would not allow it. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in a Fine Arts Program at Humber College where she discovered Canadian art and the Group of Seven in addition to receiving instruction in life drawing, painting (finally!), sculpture, and printmaking. Since art school, her artist training has been augmented by courses by various art professionals.

Marike seeks to create works of art to share and stimulate others to an awareness of the preciousness and beauty within our world. Underscoring this yearning is her faith in God and the knowledge that whatever she creates is but the dimmest reflection of the natural world.

For thirty years, Marike resided in Muskoka and was particularly inspired by the beauty of the lakes and forests of central and northern Ontario; the very landscape that had inspired the Group of Seven and countless other artists. Currently, living in south western Alberta, her current inspirations are the big sky and the grandness of the nearby mountains. She loves painting en plein air. She creates out of her home studio in Cochrane and she paints using oils or acrylic paints. Her work was been featured in the July 2019 issue of the Muskoka Life magazine, and in the October 2020 issue of Arabella. Marike is represented by the Eclipse Gallery in Huntsville, Ontario and in the Route 22 Collective Gallery in Cochrane, Alberta.