Plein Air Painting in Italy, Switzerland, & France Summer 2026
This wasn’t my first Europe trip, but it was my first international plein air painting trip with oils! In 2023, I went on a similar route, but only brought a sketchbook, pencils, and gouache. So, this was a real challenge for me and an even more incredible experience than the last. This trip, I challenged myself to paint every day, which I almost succeeded at. There were days when I didn’t paint and some days where I made 2-4 paintings. I went home with over 30 plein air paintings, 19 of which will be featured in my studio sale. The other paintings I chose not to include because I felt as though they weren’t strong enough, didn’t have time to finish due to the changing light, or because I’d like to work on some of them more in the future. Anyways, here are ALL of the paintings aside for 2!
June 1st, my boyfriend, Jared Brady, and I began this trip in Florence, Italy, where we met up with our friend Rolf Hellem. On our first full day, he took us to see a beautiful view that overlooked Florence with an incredible sunset. It was an intimidating view to paint, so I took some time to briefly observe the beginning processes of other artists. After a surge of courage, I made two small paintings!
A couple days later, Jared, Rolf, Andrii Kateryniuk, Anhelina Holembivska and I, spent a day in Levanto, Italy, where Rolf gave us surfing lessons! Disclaimer, I did NOT do well…but I had an absolute blast trying! We also had a small window of time to paint before we had to depart. The sparkles on the distant sea had an effervescent quality on them from the sun peeking through the clouds, and the mountain in the distance had a wash of luminous light, giving it a beautiful atmospheric quality. I tried my best to capture that view, but sometimes I couldn’t help but to stop and admire the ephemeral view before me. It was definitely one of my favorite memories.
I didn’t do any additional paintings in Florence, but I had a great time watching Jared paint the Duomo. When I was in Italy in 2023, I was sick the entire part of our Florence trip and was bummed I wasn’t able to appreciate the local architecture very much. This trip, I got to spend much more time with it. I was most excited to see the Duomo. Every step I took around it left me in awe…There’s artistry in every plane, and nook and cranny- I was getting lost in each little detail and simultaneously trying to fathom how plein air artists are even able to capture the Duomo’s beauty. It’s truly a feat of human ingenuity.
June 4, Jared, Rolf, and I departed to Venice, Italy, and met up with Andrii and Simon Schmidt . I visited back in 2023 so, this trip in Venice didn’t have a lot of “unique” memories per se since I was already quite familiar with the unique architecture. Because of that, I dedicated this time to gaining confidence in my plein air painting skills…Especially in front of so many tourists…Aside from 1 day, I painted every day in Venice, and made 1-4 paintings a day. I also focused on honing my skills in capturing moving water. It’s always been a daunting subject for me, but I’m happy to express that I left with canal pieces that I’m proud of!
One of those paintings also happens to be my new favorite nocturne piece. In this little piece, I kept my shapes super simple, and chose to leave out a lot of information in the gondolas, building, and water, so that I could focus on the light from the lantern and how it sparkled on the water. There was also a sweet moment where a small group of rowdy youngsters noticed Jared and I painting. They asked us what we were up to, gave us lots of compliments, and wished us a great time in Venice!
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Venice trip if I didn’t try to eat gelato from Suso as often as I could!
June 10, after saying our goodbyes to the other lads, we headed to our flight to Lyon, where we stayed overnight with Patrick Okrasinski and Kyle Ma. Then on June 11, the 4 of us packed ourselves and our luggage in a car like sardines, and drove to Switzerland. As we approached our Airbnb, we were welcomed by the sounds of cow bells and moos! And as you can imagine, the views were beautiful everywhere we went. During this trip, I found that mountainous scenes are the most challenging for me to paint. I did a lot of mountain paintings that I’m not pleased with, but I certainly learned quite a bit by watching other artists paint.
Near our Airbnb, there were so many beautiful spots that were easily accessible by car. I painted a small waterfall along the Rychenbach river and at a forest full of dappled light. A little further, we encountered a ranch full of cows that were backdropped with the most beautiful mountain peaks and glaciers. Where we were standing, the perspective was somewhat confusing as it wasn’t clear that there were 3 mountain peaks. In the first image below, it showcases the Klein Wellhorn, Wellhorn, and the Mittlehorn. Each time we visited (which was frequent), the sun would hit the mountain peaks and glaciers in such beautiful ways. This was one of those spots where I spent most of my time just taking in the sights and appreciating the world in front of me.One of the days we were there, I encountered a group of lovely Thai folks who were spending part of the summer visiting the alpine regions of Europe! It’s always a fun surprise to encounter other Thai people outside of Thailand.
Another spot we visited was lake Oeschinensee. We took a gondola up a mountain and then hiked a bit. I wasn’t prepared for the dry air and the intense UV, but it was absolutely worth every step. The lake has a beautiful, rich, turquoise color. Wrapped around it was a lakeshore with jolly tourists, forests, and what felt like sweeping mountain formations. Later, there was a German man (I didn’t write down his name, which I regret!) who spotted Jared setting up a new spot to paint and he invited us to paint on the balcony of his house that overlooked the lake. He treated us to coffee and with his telescope, he showed us families of mountain goats and hikers in the distant mountain by the lake!
June 16, Patrick , Kyle, Jared, and I started our drive to Chamonix, France where we later reunited with Rolf and Andrii, and were joined by Shaoli Huang, Pavel Sokov, and Anne Sao Leclerc. We went to all different kinds of places here and had so many adventures!
Before the 4 of us actually arrived to Chamonix, we tried to go to Simplon Pass, where Sargent also painted. We weren’t able to reach the same exact view he did, but we got quite close and were able to capture the very same mountain! It was such an honor to be able to paint the same mountain that a master had painted.
Once in Chamonix, we were met with a charming town full of locals and travelers and were surrounded by mountains. Each morning and evening in front of our Airbnb, the mountains were illuminated with hues shifting from pinks, reds, and oranges. These captivating washes of colors drenched the mountain peaks in ways that mesmerized each of us. It was always hard to look away as each minute felt like a different painting.
Each day featured its own set of adventures. Our first full day, we took a charming, little red cogwheel train to the largest valley in France, Mer De Glace. While we didn’t hike the area, we stationed ourselves at a spot that surrounded us with breathtaking views of the valley and mountains. The next day, we took a gondola up to the halfway point of the mountain, Aiguille du Midi. We took a small hike to the lake, Lac Bleu, which was pretty, but wasn’t actually that paintable…Most of us stuck to either painting the different rocky arrangements that were scattered around the mountain, the mountain itself, or views of other mountains such as the infamous, Mont Blanc. I chose to paint some rock formations and featured Rolf on the upper right corner.
Other days were full of outings such as visiting a nature reserve, Parc de Merlet, which featured different mountain animals, go-kart racing, watching a double rainbow form atop of mountains, revisiting Aiguille du Midi, and of course, trying the delicious local cuisine. The last full day bloomed with so many fun memories. All 9 of us spent the day trying to avoid the sweltering heat that began to sweep over Europe. In the morning, we painted right in front of the waterfall, La Cascade du Dard, where the sprays of the rushing water cooled us all off. Later, 3 others and I went to cool off from the afternoon heat in a nearby lake. Finally, we ended the day enjoying the sunset and in the company of one another and began saying our goodbyes.
June 23, Jared and I arrived back in Lyon , France for our last 3 days in Europe. We chose not to do much painting since the temps reached 98 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit those days. Fortunately, some museums were open longer and for free, giving the public access to AC. One of those museums was the Musee des Beaux-Arts, which we spent a whole day in. Two of the paintings featured in the carosel are "Charing Cross Bridge, the Thames” by Claude Monet, and “Inspiration” by Henri Martin. When we were outside wandering around, there was usually a pleasant breeze that accompanied us, making the walks more tolerable.
Due to the intense heat, it seemed like a great chance to visit to Annecy, France on June 25! We took the train to this lovely lakeside town and also got to meet up with Shaoli. We found that the main hub of the city wasn’t actually as paintable as we had hoped in the morning and afternoon, but the evening light gave the downtown area a lovely glow (we had to leave by that point, so we couldn’t stay to paint). During our time there, we saw all sorts of artists in the area for the Annecy Animation Festival. In one of the parks, there was a large group of artists mingling and sketching the area. It gave me a lot of joy to see a bunch of artists getting together and reveling in the arts. The old town area was full of all sorts of beautiful views and unique architecture. And as you may already guess, the lake was even more beautiful than everything else. After some sightseeing, we had a nice short swim in the lake to cool off before departing back to Lyon.
June 26, we finally departed back for the States and discussed our favorite memories along the way. If it weren’t for each of these amazing artists I got to meet, I wouldn’t have left Europe with such a glow in my soul that’ll keep flickering throughout the year. While some days were more chill than others, there was never a day of dullness.
