Amherst Plein Air Society Art Exhibition: Tenth Year Anniversary

An exhibition of 100 paintings by 34 local artists.

APAS was founded in 2015 to provide encouragement and creative camaraderie for artists to paint en plein air together outdoors in our beautiful regional landscape. Some of our members have been painting for decades, while others are new to painting, and everything in between. All media, ages, and levels of experience are welcome. APAS has over 60 member artists, representing a wide diversity of styles and approaches to landscape painting.

Western Massachusetts has many beautiful spaces for an artist to discover and plein air painting is an exhilarating way to experience them. "It's more than putting paint on a canvas," said Personette, the group's founding director. "All of your senses react to the colors you see, how they shift and change with the light."

Many of the paintings in the show were painted completely en plein air, started in the field, or inspired by sketches, studies, and photographs of nature. "The exhibition features a lively range of scenes in multiple media—oil, watercolor and pastel," said Maggie Hodges, an artist and APAS Board Member.  "It is a feast for the eyes."