Organized in September, 2005, Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters, Inc. is an artist association that promotes and inspires quality, plein air painting while providing socially pleasant painting opportunities for its membership throughout the year.  Our artists who paint in the outdoors reside throughout the Greater Rochester, Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes regions. Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters meets regularly all year round to paint landscapes, cityscapes and waterscapes.

What is plein air painting?

Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are well-known French Impressionist painters who advocated for the special quality of light that could be seen and captured by painting on location, or en plein air. Since the 19th Century, plein air painting has endured time and grown, gaining more popularity in the 21st Century. Formed in 2005, Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters is a group of artists who like to paint outside.

WHY paint outdoors?

Some folks like to golf, others like to go on a picnic. But most of the members of Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters are checking the weather forecast and looking forward to a great day to paint outdoors. Something magical happens when the charm of our beautiful world is captured in natural light on a canvas or a sheet of paper.