Plein Air Workshop in the Gardens with Priscilla Humay

Wednesday, March 11, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00pm

“Plein Air” is a French term meaning “in the open air” and refers to drawing outdoors, directly from nature, and in natural light. This workshop in the OMAM Gardens will inspire you to capture mood, atmosphere and natural color in a live scene. Plein Air drawing, even for short periods of time, stirs the emotion and trains the hand and eye. It also keeps one’s hand in practice and one’s eyes in tune.

Your eyes will search the Gardens choosing a scene to record and recreate. Through observing and drawing (or painting), you will develop your own personal style, which may be loose or tight, soft or strong, ethereal or solid. Through creating in the Gardens, you will learn composition, perspective, color, value, form, line, and texture in nature.

The instructor will provide individual assistance, demonstrations, and handouts. Students will participate in an open critique and discussion of the finished pieces. These can be later used as reference to create more refined drawings or paintings. Students may use any medium of their choice- dry, wet, or both- and are responsible for bringing their own supplies. Please see suggested supplies below.

Supply Suggestions:

KEEP IT SIMPLE!  Keep supplies easily portable, few, light weight, and simple.

ALL STUDENTS BRING THESE:

• Drawing board (sturdy cardboard, foam core, etc.) a size to accommodate pad or paper.
• Two spring clips or tape to hold your paper on the board.

Dry Medium Supply Suggestions:

• Drawing Pad or Papers (portable size, suggestions: Stonehenge, Strathmore, Canson)
• Dry Drawing Media: (graphite drawing pencils, colored pencils, conte, markers)
• Handheld pencil sharpener
• Factis Black 18 eraser (General Pencil Co.)

Wet Medium Supply Suggestions:

• Watercolor Pad or Papers (portable size)
• Wet Drawing Media: (watercolor pencils, watercolor, markers, inks, ink pens)
• Handheld Pencil Sharpener
• Brushes – synthetic, inexpensive, any (small & medium, flat & round)
• Water container (small plastic with lid)
• Paper Towel (a few sheets) or Rag

Instructor will bring:  sunscreen, insect repellent, and additional art supplies

Registration will close when program is full.

About the Instructor

Priscilla Humay exhibits nationally, is in private and corporate collections, and is featured in major publications. She is a Signature Member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and served on its National Governing Board. Priscilla was a co-director of ARC, Chicago art gallery. Through the U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service, she was awarded two Artist in Residencies at the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. She taught at the College of Lake County IL, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin TX. Her BFA is from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MS from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Post Graduate Study at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. In her own art, she loves to capture the essence of nature’s beauty and enjoys sharing this through teaching.