Landscape Painting Workshop: En Plein Air & In Studio
€360.00
EN PLEIN AIR & STUDIO PAINTING 3-DAY WORKSHOP
SUMMER WORKSHOP SERIES 2026
| Dates | Friday 10th, Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th July 2026 |
| Duration | 3 days |
| Time | 10am – 5pm each day, with 1 hour for lunch |
| Location | Cahir Arts, Cahir, Co. Tipperary See on Google Maps |
| Class Size | 10 people max. |
| Medium | Oil (recommended) or acrylic |
| Level | All levels welcome |
| Price | € 360 |
This comprehensive painting workshop will show you the principles and practice of landscape painting en plein air and in studio.
The workshop is divided between (1) outdoor painting sessions around Cahir Castle, parklands and river, where you will paint directly from the source – nature; and (2) indoor studio work at Cahir Arts, where you will develop your plein air painted sketches and studies into fully realised paintings.
As such, you will learn both direct (alla prima) and indirect (layering) painting methods. The outdoor painting sessions will show you how landscape forms and colours translate into paint, and how to capture light, colour, form and texture with immediacy and speed. The indoor painting sessions will show you how to create strong and unified compositions, developing your sketches and reference images into a large and more refined studio painting.
This workshop will demonstrate the relevance and benefits of both working environments for creating stunning landscape paintings. You will also learn solid composition and colour theory and painting techniques that will be tried and tested both in the field and in the studio.
See daily workshop schedule, full description, what’s included and what to bring, as well as reviews in the tabbed sections below.
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Workshop Description
This 3-day intensive workshop covers all of the key aspects of landscape painting, both in studio and en plein air.
We will briefly overview the landscape and plein air painting traditions, and learn different painting concepts and their practical applications. You will then have two full days of en plein air (or ‘in the open air’ i.e. outdoor) painting where you will create vivid and accurate painterly sketches directly from the motif. The use of outdoor and indoor settings for landscape paintings has been a common practice for centuries even amongst Impressionist landscape painters – most of their landscape paintings were finished or even reworked in studio.
Painting demonstrations will guide you step-by-step through the painting process, and practical issues including my own personal and professional tips for painting outdoors will be covered. You will also learn the most important compositional aspects of landscape painting, beginning with how to select suitable scenes. Some of the learning features of this workshop include:
- Working from pencil sketches to monochromatic painted exercises to limited colour palette paintings to expressive full colour paintings
- Seeking out spatial cues in any scene that will lead to a successful painting: volume, scale, overlap (or interposition) and linear perspective
- Interpreting shape and mass
- Simplifying and characterising trees and foliage
- Dealing with problematic subjects such as dappled, or non-conforming patterns of, light and shadow, or how to accurately depict the myriad variations of the colour green
- The importance of value and tonal relationships, which document the fall and effect of light and shadow on the subject matter, will be emphasised at the beginning
- Introduction to many landscape painters, schools and styles
- The benefits of working sight-size
- Learning how to mix colours so that they remain true to their subject
- Reviewing the basics of colour theory, primary colour biases, colour temperature, and transparencies and opacities of paint colours, and in different mediums
- Developing strategies to help you to respond quickly to light and colour, helping you to simplify value, hue and chroma, and to heighten your awareness of temperature changes in the scene
Learning Outcomes
Some of the key learning outcomes include:
- Composition, picture plane dynamics and scene selection: identifying visual cues that will ensure a successful painting composition
- Simplifying and massing the many complex shapes, forms and textures in nature
- Emphasising the primary importance of value and tonal relationships
- Mastering light and colour: how to mix realistic as well as expressive colours, and organising and harmonising them on your palette and canvas
- Understanding different surfaces and the effects of light and atmosphere on them
You will also be shown many important painting skills and techniques, including brushwork, washes, blending, edges and transitions, and many other tips to help you avoid the most common pitfalls in painting.
What's Included
Included in this workshop are:
- 18 hours of instruction
- 20-page workshop ebook
- Digital prints
- Basic materials, including canvas
- Easels and boards. If you have a pochade easel or wish to use canvas boards, please bring them along.
Materials List
You will need to bring your own paints, brushes and mediums. Please download materials list below.
Download Materials ListTerms & Conditions
Please read carefully before enrolling and paying for this workshop. By paying for this workshop you are agreeing to the terms and conditions below:
WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS
In the event of:
- Light Showers: The workshop will continue outdoors and you will need to pack an umbrella and suitable clothing.
- Wind and rain: Depending on the severity, we may move back to the studio.
- Storm or extreme weather: We will work in studio instead.
Depending on weather over the weekend, we may change our plein air painting session on Saturday to one of the other days.
OIL PAINTS
Oil paints, solvents and mediums (such as mineral spirits, turpentine and linseed oil) will be used on this course, and these have a small and safe degree of toxicity but can emit strong fumes, which may cause headaches, drowsiness and skin irritations.
FEES, CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS
- Fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
- Adrian Cooke reserves the right to cancel this workshop at any time if the minimum number of students required is not reached. In such cases, your fee will be fully refunded.
- It is recommended that you take out insurance to cover travel and accommodation costs in the event that this workshop is cancelled.
Reviews
I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-day plein air painting workshop at Mount Congreve [July 2023].
– Catherine
I had a great painting weekend and learned a lot.
– Tony
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