En Plein Air Workshop at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens
We’re excited to invite you to a special en plein air workshop in partnership with Erica Brooks of the Charleston Artist Guild! This is a unique opportunity to learn directly from an accomplished artist as she shares her process from start to finish in a beautiful outdoor setting.
Erica will demonstrate each stage of her plein air painting process, walking you through thumbnails and sketching, blocking in, and refining, while explaining her tips and tricks along the way. After each demonstration, you’ll put brush to canvas and apply what you’ve learned, with personalized guidance and critiques from Erica.
Whether you’re building your skills from the ground up or fine-tuning your technique, this immersive workshop combines expert instruction, creative inspiration, and personalized feedback to help you grow as an artist.
Come ready to learn, paint, and grow!
En Plein Air Workshop
When: April 12th, 2-5PM
What’s Included: admission and expert guidance from Erica Brooks
What to Bring: Check the supply list below!
Cost: $65
Supply list (supplies not provided)
Paint: titanium white, cadmium yellow light, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, alizarin crimson, transparent oxide red or transparent burnt Sienna, ultramarine blue, viridian (optional colors: titanium buff or unbleached titanium).
Portable Easel: French easel or Ponchade Box.
Brushes: A variety of sizes for flats and filberts and smaller pointed rounds. I prefer long handled brushes. Synthetic brushes are recommended, but hog bristle brushes are another option when working in oils.
Palette for oils, palette paper for acrylics.
A Masterson box is useful for storage of palette or palette paper.
Palette Knife.
Gamsol for oil paint and water for acrylic paint (It is recommended to use a small spray bottle to mist acrylic paint piles to prevent from drying too fast).
Optional Mediums: Gamblin solvent free medium for oil paint. Acrylic retarder for acrylic paint.
Spill proof brush washer or portable container for Gamsol or water.
Smaller canvas, canvas panels or gessoed masonite/board in a variety of sizes for plein air work.
Paper towels or rags.
Sketch book for thumbnail sketches and pencil or marker.
Optional: Viewfinder, Wet Panel Carrier, Easel umbrella.
About Erica Brooks
Erica Brooks is a representational oil painter. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brooks discovered her passion for art at an early age—often sketching birds and flowers as a child. Her talent was quickly recognized, leading her to pursue formal training at Moore College of Art and ultimately earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts from West Chester University before moving to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY, where the energy of city life shaped her early artistic experiences. Seeking a quieter environment to deepen her artistic focus, Brooks later relocated to rural Humboldt County, California. There, she continued to refine her craft and earned two master’s degrees from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco: an MFA in Fine Art and an MA in Illustration. Brooks is a versatile artist whose work includes still life, portraiture, pet portraits, and plein air painting. Erica started the Humboldt Open Paint Out, a plain air competition in California. Recently, Erica taught landscape painting classes through Cal Poly Humboldt’s College of Extended Education & Global Engagement. She has a particular love for creating still life arrangements and values the process of working directly from life.