Plein Air Saskatchewan is returning for its fourth year, bringing artists from across the prairies to West Central Saskatchewan for a weekend dedicated to painting, community, and connecting with nature.
The event, running Aug. 21–24 in Eston, is built around the practice of plein air painting, a French term meaning “outdoors,” where artists paint directly from the landscape around them.
Paul Trottier, who owns Hues Art Supply in Saskatoon and serves as facilitator of the event, said the idea came together about five years ago.
“About five years ago, I started thinking about doing a plein air paint out for people that were interested in painting outside,” Trottier said. “So we got together at the store here and figured out how we were going to make that happen, and we started about four years ago offering it as a plein air paint out.”
Trottier said the event is not a formal workshop but a gathering space for artists of all levels.
“There’s no real instruction in the course itself. This is just an opportunity for anybody who wants to learn about plein air or who’s already engaged in plein air to come out and work with a group of other plein air artists. That’s the function of Plein Air Saskatchewan,” he said.
The event has drawn steady growth since its beginnings. “We started with about 18 people the first year out, and we’re getting close to 40 now,” Trottier said.
The itinerary for the weekend is loosely structured but follows a familiar pattern. The first night includes a social gathering with wine and cheese, giving participants a chance to meet one another and talk. The second and third days are devoted to painting from dawn until dusk. On the final day, the work is displayed for the public in a show and sale.
“The final day on Sunday, the 24th, we’ll have a show and sale. There will be all the paintings from those two days of painting shown for sale. And anybody who’s interested in the location can swing by and pick up a painting if they want,” Trottier said. “They can purchase it right from the artist. They can talk about their experience of painting that painting, it’s more intimate when you’re buying work like that.”
Plein air painting is a long-standing tradition in the art world, and Trottier noted it has global roots.
“There’s plein air societies all around North America, even in South America,” he said. “Plein air is a very immediate way of painting, you have to be there and you have to respond to the surface within a couple of hours to get the work done.”
Trottier’s own history with outdoor painting goes back decades, to both his childhood and his work as director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Kenderdine campus at Emma Lake.
“Pretty much my whole life, my father and another art teacher would take us out to the riverbank to paint. I was already familiar with being outside and painting outside,” he said. “Long story short, I went through my art career, became a printmaker at the university, became a teacher and when I took over the campus in 2005, there were a few people that were doing plein air and I got back into plein air painting at that time.”
He later became part of “Men Who Paint,” a collective of artists who have been painting together for nearly two decades.
Trottier said the Saskatchewan event is designed to move around the province to highlight its diverse landscapes. Past gatherings have taken place at Waskesiu, Lumsden and Narrow Hills Provincial Park.
This year, Eston was chosen after local painter Christine Code invited the group to host the event there.
Trottier said he sees the future of Plein Air Saskatchewan as strong.
“This was the plan always with Plein Air. Our shop in Saskatoon will continue to facilitate and support it, because we really believe in people being on the land painting,” he said. “Being in the studio, of course, is very important as well. But we want to make sure that people have the opportunity to experience nature while they’re painting. As far as longevity goes, I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.”
The 2026 location is already in the works, with plans to possibly head to northwest Saskatchewan.
For Trottier, the value of plein air painting is in the immediacy and the connection to the land.
“This really came about because my experience with the Men Who Paint and the work that I was doing up at Kenderdine. I was the director there at Emma Lake and that really kind of fueled my juices to get more people involved in plein air, which is very immediate,” he said. “You have to respond to what you’re seeing. Clouds move, wind changes, bugs come and go and getting comfortable in that environment becomes very important, so people are feeling safe and comfortable painting outside.”