Fresh Air & Fine Art

By Jill Duff-Hoppes

Central Florida has a new group for artists who enjoy painting outdoors and using their skills to capture the beauty of nature.

The Winter Park Plein Air Painters was founded a few months ago by Holly Austin and Orit Reuben. Orit, an Israeli-American artist who lives in Baldwin Park, is known for her luminous pastel paintings of landscapes and figurative scenes. Holly specializes in oil paintings but also works in watercolors, acrylics, and pastels.

Artist Orit Reuben is the cofounder of the Winter Park Plein Air Painters.

The new group typically meets on Thursdays at picturesque locales in Orange and Seminole counties. The group is open to plein-air artists of all skill levels. Their gatherings start with painting sessions that are followed by helpful critiques and sometimes lunch and socializing, too.

“We love the energy of painting with other people and feel a scheduled meeting is a great motivator to go out and paint,” says Orit. “It’s also a chance to meet very nice people who all like to paint. The group atmosphere is very positive and encouraging.”

So far, the group has painted at postcardworthy spots in Winter Park, Wekiva Island in Longwood, and downtown Winter Garden.

To learn more, search for Winter Park Plein Air Painters on Facebook or Meetup.

Story was originally published in print in Spring 2023.