Our Plein Air Program
We send out an email notice to all MLAA members each time we plan a plein air event. Usually this would be on Monday or Tuesday for a paintout on Thursday. Participation is free. You do not have to book a space. There is no formal instruction. Just check the email for directions and contact information, show up at the destination, and look for the easels. Normally our events are from 10 to 3 on Thursdays. We cancel for inclement weather. We love to post images of members' plein air paintings, whether done with the group or on your own. Just email the image to Maureen Carden at cardenmaureen@gmail.com.
You are en plein air on your deck

Rana Ford, confined by the pandemic, painted this splendid spray of spring blooms en plein air from her deck.
Morgan Chapel, May 12, 2022
This was a new destination for the Plein Air Painters. The Morgan Chapel, dating from 1880, is a few miles out of town on Wards Ferry Road in lovely countryside. Maureen Carden, John Sharum, Susan Kendall and new member Claire Chateauneuf made the trek.
Courthouse Square, May 5, 2022

Courthouse Square off Washington Street is a great location to paint, with a choice of subjects. We painted there two weeks in a row. Left, and below right, Susan Kendall and new MLAA member Shelly Keith focussed on a dramatic .tree in the Square. Maureen tackled the old courthouse. We were very happy to welcome some new members to our group!
March, 2022
Jamestown, February 17, 2022

Painters in the park! We returned to Jamestown this week. We're thrilled to have newcomers to our group this season! We've taken full advantage of this spring's prolonged dry spell to paint in destinations which will be crushingly hot later in the year.
It's always interesting when several painters render the same subject, and that;s what happened this week. Everybody was drawn to the view up Seco Street to the church. Participants painted in watercolor, gouache and oils.
It's always interesting when several painters render the same subject, and that;s what happened this week. Everybody was drawn to the view up Seco Street to the church. Participants painted in watercolor, gouache and oils.
Jamestown, February 10, 2022

We tried out a new destination! Jamestown is three miles west of downtown Sonora. The old town , located between Highway 108 and Main Street, features a wealth of subjects, plus free parking and clean restrooms. On the left, fast work by Maureen Carden, Susan Kendall, Linda Happel and Rana Ford.
A big plus of painting in a group is watching how other artists develop their paintings. Rana focuses on color and design and often selects a small feature as her subject. Below, a study of a doorway on Main Street becomes a near-abstract exercise in color harmony.
A big plus of painting in a group is watching how other artists develop their paintings. Rana focuses on color and design and often selects a small feature as her subject. Below, a study of a doorway on Main Street becomes a near-abstract exercise in color harmony.
Columbia, February 3, 2022
Paint Out in Columbia, January 27, 2022
Seven artists turned out to paint in Columbia on January 27. Our 2022 season is off to a great start with three new members showing up to paint outdoors. Left to right, Susan Kendall, John Sharum, Maureen Carden.
January 20, 2022: Tuolumne City

Susan, Maureen and Celia painted this quirky street scene in Tuolumne City.
In Memory of Susan Lea Hackett

Our friend Susan Lea Hackett passed away on September 6, 2021. Her unexpected death was a loss to the MLAA community. Susan was an accomplished painter and textile artist, teacher, and source of inspiration. Most of us will remember her as the organizer of the Plein Air Group. With her guidance we trekked up and down the county and found joy in painting and contentment In friendship.
In honor of Susan, we organized a plein air event in Columbia, a favorite painting destination. Some of Susan's art was on display. The weather was perfect and some of the attendees brought their easels. Many thanks to Susan Kendall for organizing this tribute.
In honor of Susan, we organized a plein air event in Columbia, a favorite painting destination. Some of Susan's art was on display. The weather was perfect and some of the attendees brought their easels. Many thanks to Susan Kendall for organizing this tribute.

March 12, 2020: another great spring day in Columbia, where the trees are in bloom. On a Thursday afternoon there were few visitors and the charms of this old Gold Rush town were fully apparent. There's a painting everywhere you look here. Whatever the artist's style and no matter what their preferred medium, the Gold Rush era buildings provide wonderful subjects.

March 3, 2020. We need rain . . . but the sunny and warm weather is so alluring. The plein air group was in Columbia for our first session of 2020. Columbia State Park was the perfect destination, with its traffic-free streets and gorgeously ramshackle buildings. The still-bare trees revealed new paintable scenes and garden trees were in bud or bloom. We made art. We had fun. We made plans to return on March 10, if it doesn't rain. Anyone can join us. All skill levels and art media are welcome.
January 6, 2020: It's winter, but we still get beautiful weather for outdoor painting. It's harder to schedule regular paint-outs, but we're still working outdoors. Susan Kendall painted on Washington Street in downtown Sonora (left), with the iconic Red Church. Maureen Carden painted the cypresses in the old City Cemetery (right).
Barbara Young painted at Crystal Falls Lake (below). She stencilled leave shapes onto water color paper and developed her sketch over that.

Paint-Out at the Twain Harte Canal, 11/12/2019
The Twain Harte Canal area offers a range of subjects for outdoor painters: the canal itself, the imposing trestle, woods, fields, a pond and, on this date, spots of brilliant fall foliage. The painters scattered. Different viewpoints -- and different painting styles -- always lead to different outcomes! That's part of the fun of plein air!
Paint-Out at Sierra Glen, 11/5/2019
Plein Air coordinator Susan Lea Hackett organized a special treat for the plein air group on November 5, 2019. Sierra Glen, formerly an apple orchard and berry farm, is situated high up in the foothills off Big Hill Road in Twain Harte. A record number of painters showed up in perfect fall weather to be inspired by the lovely setting and the paintable outbuildings and farmhouse. Below: works in progress!