The annual Carmel on Canvas Plein Air Paint Out will take place from Sept. 5 to 6, 2025. It will be held at Carmel Arts & Design District, Carmel’s Midtown, City Hall, Japanese Gardens, Carmel City Center and Carmel Central Park. The event is simultaneously an exhibit for the artists and also a competition. 

Plein air painting is the practice of painting outdoors. Senior Ismail Kheiri said he loves to plein air paint and it is a rewarding experience. 

Kheiri said, “Plein air painting gives a creative perspective than just painting inside. Capturing a landscape in its natural state requires considering more variables, like the lighting, which can easily change and create a new composition. I think this offers a unique challenge and beauty to just relying on an image to capture a landscape.”

Kheiri said one of the biggest benefits of plein air painting is the improvement in technique. 

“I think a unique benefit of painting/drawing outdoors is how it improves artistic ability,” Kheiri said. “Painting directly from life forces you to understand how light and atmosphere impact a landscape, and how to translate color and distance on a canvas. There’s also a variable of time, as the lighting will change the look of the landscape, which forces you to make quick decisions.”

Angela Li, co-president of Carmel Artists’ Association, said she agreed with Kheiri and said plein air painting emphasizes all five senses. 

“When I’m inside using digital references, I am able to see all the fine details, but in the end, it’s still just a flat image,” Li said. “When I’m outside, there are a lot more ways to perceive the subject I’m drawing. For example, I’ll be able to hear birds chirping and people talking, which might make me consider the birds’ positions or the people’s facial expressions more.”

Drew Murray, an art teacher at this school, said he agreed with Kheiri and Li.

“From life, we always use references in (this room) because we can’t go anywhere in the school, but doing it outside is a whole different thing because you see it in a different way that you wouldn’t otherwise,” Murray said, “I’ve gotten the most mileage from just mixing colors. Just the experience of mixing colors made my work with other materials easier.” 

Lauryn Wright, senior and secretary of the National Art Honor Society, said she agreed with Murray.

She said, “Painting outdoors gives off a natural light, making it easier to understand and blend colors. I feel like painting outdoors provides more space to be creative and experiment.”

Li said outside of technical ability, painting has other mental benefits as well. 

“Painting is sort of like a refuge for my brain, away from academics,” Li said. “It still requires a lot of thinking, and I do need breaks from it sometimes, but when I’m worrying about school and homework, it’s a way for me to calm down. It’s also my biggest creative outlet, I have full freedom to paint whatever I want, however I want to. I genuinely think that being an artist makes you see the world through a larger lens, which is actually helpful to me right now as I’m writing college essays.”

Kheiri said he agreed with Li. 

“Art has created a mini archive of my life, showing the aesthetics I was into or the people I drew inspiration from at the time,” Kheiri said. “I think painting has definitely gotten me off my screen a lot, and motivated me to do something creative, which I’ll look back and be proud of.”

Murray said he encouraged everyone to try plein air painting.

“If you have time to do it, even if it’s just in your backyard, (you should),” Murray said. “You don’t have to go anywhere—although I recommend it, it’s a lot of fun—set up something small, give yourself time to relax, and just enjoy the process.”