As planning continues, we're excited to share that we have our first location confirmed for Season 2!  We'll be visiting The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Morris Plains, NJ.  Can't wait to learn more!

  This amazing journey began a little more than a year ago.  And now I'm beyond excited to share this distribution link: https://www.netaonline.org/episode/eric-en-plein-air - Click that link to learn more about our program and to read episode descriptions for Season 1.
   Season 1 will be airing nationally and on the PBS app in a few months and more updates are coming soon as we're busy scouting locations for Season 2.  Thank you again for your support!

  As an artist, you may question what is better: Painting from life or using photo references?  Artists have been grappling with this question since the earliest days of photography (C. 1838-40).  And I think it's a good topic to investigate and write about here.
  The first thing to consider is your motivation?  Why are you painting this painting?  It may have a simple answer: "Because I like this subject matter, color, composition" or you may be more interested in telling a visual story (the narrative).  Your motivation may reflect in your artistic process.
  For myself, I enjoy painting to experience a specific moment and to record that moment with paint.  I prefer a sense of overall mood and atmosphere as opposed to specific realism or "photographic" details.  We could go down another rabbit hole to discuss the merits of impressionism Vs. realism Vs. photorealism, but perhaps another time..
  For over 150 years now, we have been visually influenced by photographs.  And many would agree that photographs represent reality.  But that's not quite true.  The way a monocular camera sees is very different from our own binocular vision.  Take the three main principles of art and you'll see that a camera distorts each of them: Color, Value and even Shape.  I always feel that the flatness and stillness of a photograph is a poor representation of reality.
  The other aspect of photography which artists should consider is detail.  The camera is purely objective; the camera does not select nor choose what it represents.  But artists have the wonderful opportunity to choose and edit our view.  As an experiment, focus on a particularly object in your field of vision.  You can see that object in high resolution, but everything around it becomes less focused.  As artists, we can use these levels of focus to our advantage to lead a viewer's eye around a scene.
  On Eric En Plein Air, I work from life to capture scenes on canvas.  It's a race against time as the sun and elements are always shifting.  But I personally love this challenge because it creates an urgency in my work.  In terms of timing, you can also return to a location during similar conditions to further develop a painting.  This was a strategy that Claude Monet took advantage of for his larger pieces.
  It's great to explore different methods and ways of working.  Art is an individual pursuit and you can incorporate various methods.  For my students, I always encourage them to embrace the challenge and to work from life as much as possible.  It's a great way to explore and experience the world while creating painted memories!

  We are still digging out of 19" of snow here in NJ..  But our plans for spring are already developing.
  I am happy to announce that we already have some locations confirmed for Season 2 of Eric En Plein Air.  We are busy working on details while always incorporating educational art lessons into each episode.
  This will be a very busy spring and summer because I'll also be traveling around the US to plein air events while leaving the US in May to teach a week-long plein air workshop in the south of France (More info here).  I'm excited and can't wait to make some new friends!
  Thank you again to everyone who has supported our program and please remember we are always seeking location suggestions.  If you have a location suggestion, comment or feedback, please send us a message through our CONTACT PAGE.
  Stay warm and we can't wait to share more soon!

  We are currently planning our 2026 workshop schedule and are excited to share a WORKSHOPS page here on our website.  This page has a specific info request form that will allow you to share feedback/suggestions and be the first to know about upcoming workshops.
  Workshops are a great opportunity to come learn directly with Eric while sharing the experience as a group.  If you've always wanted to try painting 'en plein air' then this is a great opportunity to give it a try!

  I hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year as 2026 is underway.  I am very excited to announce that we have begun planning Season 2 of Eric En Plein Air.  Season 1 will be airing before the summer, but TV requires that we stay ahead of the schedule by planning in advance.  Filming, production and editing takes a good amount of time so we're staying ahead of the curve.
  Since our program is weather dependent, winter is a good time to plan out our spring and summer filming schedule.  I have been reading some books, including The Garden Tourist's Mid-Atlantic, which has great location ideas.  Since Season 1 was filmed in the fall, we are also planning to revisit some locations in spring/summer to see how the areas seasonally change.
  With the budget in mind, we are still keeping it local, but we'll see if donations will allow us to travel farther and to do some overnight trips.  If you have location suggestions, please write to us via our CONTACT PAGE.  We are very thankful for your support!

  We're having some fun designing Eric En Plein Air ​T-shirts, mugs and other products.  What type of merchandise would you like to see?  Let us know!

  We have received a lot of requests asking about Season 1 updates of Eric En Plein Air and I'm happy to share an update now!  We have finished editing our episode visiting Lyndhurst, a Gothic revival mansion in Tarrytown, NY.
  Once our distributor reviews it, we will receive editing feedback and will then be able to edit the rest of Season 1.  We have come a long way in a short time, but this process takes a lot of patience and diligent work.  Our goal is to produce a program that is educational, interesting and enjoyable to watch.
  Each episode is full of principle-based art lessons which will give viewers the tools to create art en plein air or elsewhere.  As a teacher and graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Florence Academy of Art, my goal is to share these time-honored methods with the Public TV audience.
  Viewers may also enjoy this program as a relaxing travelogue while learning about nature, travel, history, conservation, and more! 

  I hope you enjoy reading this lovely article by award-winning photographer and educator, James Falletti.  I had the opportunity to interview James while filming our episode at Flat Rock Brook in Englewood, NJ.  This beautifully written article makes me feel very proud of the program that we're creating for public TV.  More updates will be coming soon as we continue to edit Season 1.
--
Read the full article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/connecting-art-nature-community-flat-rock-brook-james-m-falletti-r1kqe

  Today we visited Flat Rock Brook in Englewood, NJ for our last day of filming for Season 1 of Eric En Plein Air!  I learned so much about this nature preserve from Executive Director, Stephen Wiessner and Rosetta Arrigo (Land Steward / Raptor Care Specialist).
   Their raptor sanctuary is home to birds of prey who wouldn't be able to survive in the wild.  I was particularly charmed by Tilly, an Eastern Screech Owl who was saved after being attacked by a cat.  Unfortunately, Tilly lost sight in one eye, but she has a very nice home there where she is safe and protected.
   I also had a great conversation with James Falletti, a photographer & educator who travels and takes beautiful nature photos.  James shared his inspirations and some great tips for photographing nature.
  For this episode's art lesson: I shared more information about color theory while using oil paints to capture a scene next to the brook.  It was very serene to hear the moving water while painting this scene.
  Thank you to my guests for today and I can't wait to share this full episode along with the rest of Season 1 on Public Television!

Rosetta Arrigo (Land Steward / Raptor Care Specialist)