As the organizer of the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters Meetup group, I wanted to create an opportunity for some of our members to exhibit their work. We rented the Flex Space at the Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery on Granville Island and welcomed visitors to our two-day exhibition last weekend.
The exhibition was a great success, with a steady stream of tourists, family, friends, and fellow art lovers dropping by. Alex Muraki offered free portrait sketches, which attracted visitors and added a lively, interactive element to the event. All five participating artists displayed our work, sold original paintings and greeting cards, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with the public.
I’m very excited to invite you to Beyond the Studio, a group art exhibition I’ve organized with four of my fellow artists from the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters.
Over the past couple of years, plein air painting has become an important part of my artistic life. I’ve loved getting outdoors to paint, exploring beautiful places around Vancouver and getting to know so many wonderful artists along the way. This exhibition is an opportunity for five of us to bring some of that work beyond the studio and share it with you.
I’ll be exhibiting a selection of my recent paintings, and I’ll also have a selection of my new art greeting cards available for sale.
Beyond the Studio Presented by the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters
Saturday, September 12: 11:30 am–5:30 pm Sunday, September 13: 10:00 am–4:30 pm
Federation of Canadian Artists — Flex Space 1310 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Vancouver
The Flex Space is located along Johnston Street, just before you reach the Federation Gallery as you head toward the far end of Granville Island. Look for the open garage doors and our exhibition poster outside.
If you’re visiting Granville Island that weekend, I’d love to see you. Please drop in, enjoy the paintings and come and say hello!
Here’s a retrospective of the 2026 Vancouver En Plein Air Painter’s Meetup, a painting group I created after joining an en plein air painting course in Cortona, Italy in September of 2023. Our meetup group started painting in the Greater Vancouver parks in April of 2024.
Join us if you’re in the area. You’ll find us on the Meetup Platform, or search our name online for “The Vancouver En Plein Air Painters”. Enjoy the photos!
Our meetup painting events in photos…
January 5 2026 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
While walking through the gardens, we met Gary, one of our group members. He does such lovely watercolours, with a limited palette of four paints. It’s amazing the variety of colour one can achieve with just four hues.
January 17, 2026 False Creek
It was a very chilly day in January, so cold that many of us stopped early.
We followed the sun around the seawall, gathering more painters as we went. After sharing our work, several of us gathered at an outdoor patio for a bowl of hot soup. So great to be in the sun in January!
March 1 2026 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
The many varieties of heather were in full bloom on this day. Everyone found a good place to paint. I enjoyed laying down the beginning of my painting. More to come. We had a very good turnout this day, too!
March 8, 2026 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
We came back for another session at the gardens. The Heather Garden was still in full bloom, backlit by the late afternoon sun. Perfect for continuing my painting.
March 28, 2026 Queen Elizabeth Park
The daffodils are out! The cherry blossoms are blooming! Despite the chilly weather, it was really fun painting at Queen Elizabeth Park. I made a little watercolour of the daffodils amongst the trees.
Here’s a retrospective of the 2025 Vancouver En Plein Air Painter’s Meetup, a painting group I created after joining an en plein air painting course in Cortona, Italy in September of 2023. Our meetup group started painting in the Greater Vancouver parks in April of 2024.
Join us if you’re in the area. You’ll find us on the Meetup Platform, or search our name online for “The Vancouver En Plein Air Painters”. Enjoy the photos!
Our meetup painting events in photos:
October 5, 2026 False Creek
We painted on a chilly, sunny day at Charleson Park and Leg in Boot Square, False Creek. It was so chilly, our fingers got cold and we then followed the sun to meet up with more of our painters. A very pleasant afternoon.
October 13, 2026 Stanley Park
 Painting in this beautiful October sunshine at Stanley Park. Some of us wandered off to the tone and pulls others went to the lighthouse or painted the view across the harbor. Such fun to meet someone from a Washington Painting group as well and invite them to paint with us.
October 26, 2025 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
Myself and two friends met at the gardens for a chilly, but really nice painting session. We enjoyed being out and about at Van Dusen and painting together.
November 2nd and 8th 2025, English Bay
The Sylvia Hotel, an iconic sight in Vancouver. The beautifully coloured autumn trees along the beach provided for two, shall we say refreshing, painting days. It was cold, it was cloudy, but we were blessed with a few sunny breaks. Luckily, a few of my friends joined me for these two painting sessions at the Sylvia.
And that’s a wrap for 2025 with the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters Meetup!
Here’s a retrospective of the 2025 Vancouver En Plein Air Painter’s Meetup, a painting group I created after joining an en plein air painting course in Cortona, Italy in September of 2023. Our meetup group started painting in the Greater Vancouver parks in April of 2024.
Join us if you’re in the area. You’ll find us on the Meetup Platform, or search our name online for “The Vancouver En Plein Air Painters”. Enjoy the photos!
Our meetup events in photos:
July 1, 2025 Tatlow Park with co-host, Peter
July 6, 2025 Van Dusen Gardens
Painting a cool pond on a hot day in July with our group at Van Dusen Gardens.
July 12, 2025, Burnaby Mountain with co-host, Peter
July 13 2025, Kuno Gardens
Painting at the Japanese Kuno Gardens, Gary Point Park, in Steveston, is always a fun place to paint with the view of the river, the interesting shaped trees in the Japanese garden, or just the park in general. One can also walk over to Steveston Village to paint the docks and the old cannery buildings.
July 27 2025 West Dyke
The West Dyke area near Terra Nova Park in Richmond is always a favourite location for our group. The tidal flats along the mouth of the Fraser River with the mountain views in the back ground, and the treed parkland to the east side of the Dyke, provide a lovely variety of views to paint.
August 3, 2025 Seymour River
Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve with co-host, Peter.
August 17, 2025 Stanley Park
Stanley Park near downtown Vancouver has so much to offer. Here we are painting near Siwash Rock and Third Beach.
August 24, 2025 Richmond Sunflower Festival
Painting at the Richmond sunflower fields was a wonderful experience this year. The fields are expansive and offer a beautiful variety of flowers. The property also features several great activities, including a miniature railway, hay wagon rides, and the opportunity to see farm animals like cows, sheep, goats, and chickens. Before leaving the area, you can shop for fresh, local produce at the nearby farmers market or enjoy wine and charcuterie at the winery next door.
August 29, 2025 Granville Island
Granville Island, with all that it has to offer. I love painting near the duck ponds with its sweeping weeping willow trees.
September 7, 2025 Hadden Park
Painting to the upbeat music of the musicians playing live from the decks of a tall ship anchored just off shore. Hadden Park and the shoreline next to it are situated in front of the Maritime Museum. A fun way to spend a summer’s evening!
September 12, 2025 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
A couple of us showed up for this event. I did quick watercolour sketch.
September 13, 2025 Arcadia Beach
Painting at Acadia Beach near the end of Admiralty Trail, Pacific Spirit Park. It’s a small beach just west of Spanish Banks.
September 21, 2025 Marina Square, Coal Harbour
Three of us painted near Coal Harbour and Lost Lagoon. A lovely afternoon spent painting.
September 28, 2025 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
Near the maze at the top end of Van Dusen Gardens. A very pretty day for painting.
We held the first event of the year of the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters Meetup on January 12, 2025. It was a crisp, sunny day, with a light breeze and temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius. Location: Coal Harbour, Vancouver, BC Canada.
As always, we met up at our meeting point, dispersed to paint or sketch, and then met again at the end to chat about our work. It’s always fun to hear from others about their experiences and to ask questions about how they accomplished a look or technique in their work. We’re a friendly, nonjudgmental group, which leads to open and honest discussions and plenty of support.
I found a sunny spot out of the wind and off the nearby walking path by a small duck pond in the sun. I made good progress on my painting before my fingers got too cold. I’ll finish this painting either at home or back on site on a subsequent sunny day.
Enjoy the photos! Feel free to ask me any questions or to follow me on instagram: @cerinamaryan.
Maryan
Painting in progress.The beginning of a new painting.Happy to be outside, painting in the sun. Love this view. Duck pond near Georgia St in Coal Harbour, Vancouver.
Our group’s work, some finished, some in progress.
I did it! I prepared all of my paintings at home, brought them to Opus Arts on Granville Island in the morning to complete the framing, then had them hung in the window at Vancity Credit Union on Robson and Denman, Vancouver , Canada on Dec 4! The exhibit ends early March. Take a look if you’re in the area. All paintings are for sale. Prices are $250 to $650, framed.
When painting en plein air, it’s probably best to embrace the weather rather than complain about it! I’m sure there are limits to this, but I find being outdoors in the rain much more inspiring than sitting at home wishing it wasn’t so grey out.
I’ve had several inspiring days painting solo or with my group this October and early November. The fall colours are so inspiring!
Oh, wow, it’s been a month since I last posted. How time flies!
Recently, I decided to put my brushes away and just bring a palette knife with me to my plein air painting sessions. It’s sometimes challenging to get the detail of the shapes, but I seem to be figuring it out. I enjoy how immediate this method is. It stops me from belaboring the details, as I don’t have any brushes with me. And that’s what I’m going for- more expressive paintings.
My first attempt was at Van Dusen Gardens, where we had a meetup event with the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters. I found a quiet corner with a hidden bench near the second fountain on Livingstone Lake. Such a beautiful day.
I love how textured the paint gets when applying it with a palette knife.
My second attempt was at the George Pearson Urban Garden one evening in August.
I like how loose and lively this painting turned out.
My third attempt at painting with just a palette knife was at a combined event with the Vancouver Urban Sketchers and the Vancouver Plein Air Painters at Killarney Lake on Bowen Island. What a fun day that was!
I decided to begin with a yellow ochre ground and then start by painting the background. Because I was painting with wet oil paints, I decided to scrape a bit of the background off before applying my two foreground cedar trees.
Learning to make different kinds of marks with the palette knife.
I usually find that a two or three hour session just isn’t quite long enough to complete everything in a painting. It’s always good to step back from a painting and come back to it a bit later. I’d like to go over the whole painting and look for places where I need to add more dark paint to create more depth. Just as I was running out of time on the day of painting this, I added more blue to the lake. nice, but now I’d like to make some of it greener, the way it was, as it’s a reflection of the green hillside along the shore. A bit of tweaking still to do.
Those were three good painting experiences. I’ll tweak this last one a bit, and do more paintings soon.
