August 21 - 22, 2026  |  9a - 4p daily 

Tuition: $250 [MMAM Member Rate: $240]

Join acclaimed plein air artist Bob Upton for a two-day outdoor workshop exploring the expressive potential of gouache, a luminous and versatile medium that bridges watercolor and oil. Working along the banks of the Mississippi River, participants will learn to see and paint with clarity, confidence, and spontaneity.

Through live demonstrations, guided exercises, and individual feedback, Bob will share his approach to simplifying complex scenes, managing changing light, and handling the unique challenges of working with gouache in the field. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of composition, color harmony, and atmosphere while developing personal strategies for capturing the landscape’s shifting moods.

All levels of experience are welcome. Some familiarity with painting outdoors or in watercolor is helpful but not required.

About the Instructor

Bob Upton is a plein air painter who paints in oil and gouache. Bob is from St. Paul, Minnesota where he was trained in academic realism at the Atelier Lack, and with acclaimed landscape painter Joe Paquet. He has been awarded at many of the top plein air competitions around the country including, Plein Air Easton, Olmsted Plein Air, En Plein Air Texas and Laguna Plein Air Painters of America. Upton has won 15 awards in the Plein Air Salon, and was the cover artist of Plein Air Magazine in October 2014. He is also featured in the book “The Art of Plein Air Painting” by Stephen Doherty. Recently, Bob has made extended painting trips following the Mississippi River from St. Paul to St. Louis.
“My intention is to capture the uniqueness of that single day on canvas, as the

French painter Corot said ‘Never lose the first impression which has moved you’”

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