Painting Rocks and Water in Plein Air: An Adirondack Waterfall with Don Demers

A rushing waterfall in the woods is one of the hardest things a painter can take on.

The water won’t hold still. The rocks are all angles and edges. The light shifts as the minutes go by, and there’s more information in front of you than any one painting could hold. It’s easy to freeze up — or to chase every detail and lose the scene entirely. In Painting Rocks and Water in Plein Air, internationally acclaimed oil painter Don Demers takes you deep into the Adirondacks and shows you how to work through it, step by patient step.

With more than 40 years of professional experience, Don guides you through his complete plein air process as he develops the painting The Lower Flume — a demonstration painting that went on to win First Place in the Plein Air Category at the 17th ARC Salon. Working on location beneath the soft, descending forest light he calls “benign light,” he shows you how to break down a complex outdoor scene, build it in logical stages, and arrive at a finish that feels both honest and alive.

You’ll see how Don moves from an abstract thumbnail sketch to a tonal underpainting, into a careful drawing in paint, and through every stage of building the painting toward its finish. Along the way, he explains the reasoning behind each decision — when to observe, when to invent, when to push, and when to leave well enough alone.

Throughout the course, Don shares the principles that underpin his award-winning work, including how to:

• read a complex outdoor scene and simplify it into paintable relationships
• build a painting in reliable, repeatable stages from thumbnail to finish
• paint rushing water with brushwork that mimics the movement of the water itself
• capture the angular, architectural character of rocks under soft light
• balance careful observation with creative invention, so your painting reads true without being a copy
• work outside with patience and focus, even when the light is shifting

Rooted in a long career as both a professional illustrator and a fine artist, Don draws on decades of studio discipline and a lifetime of painting from life. His teaching style is calm, generous, and clear — the kind of instruction that helps you connect what you already know with a reliable way of putting it to work on location.

This course is ideal for intermediate to advanced artists who have a foundation in painting and are ready to move beyond frustration in the field toward plein air work that feels intentional, confident, and complete. And if you’re a beginner with some grasp of materials, you’ll find Don’s instruction friendly and easy to follow as he takes his time with tips for color mixing, brushwork, how to make corrections, and more.

If you’re looking to strengthen your outdoor practice, paint water and rocks with more conviction, and develop a working process you can return to on any subject, Painting Rocks and Water in Plein Air offers a clear and practical path forward.

What You’ll Discover Inside:

• Don’s complete nine-stage plein air process for building an oil painting from thumbnail to finish — the same process behind an award-winning painting
• How to paint rushing water and waterfalls with brushwork that mimics the movement of the water itself
• How to paint rocks that look like rocks — angular, architectural, illuminated, and wet or dry
• The reasoning behind Don’s signature approach of observation plus invention — when to paint what you see, and when to paint what you feel
• How “benign light” works in a forest scene, and how to manage color temperature beneath it
• How to use edge manipulation, scumbling, and scrubbing transparent layers to build depth and atmosphere
• How to tell when a painting is finished — and the two questions Don always asks himself at the end

…and so much more!

What This Course Includes:

• Full-length plein air painting demonstration of The Lower Flume
• Materials Walk-Through: How Don sets up his plein air kit, and why
• Start-to-Finish On-Location Demo of The Lower Flume in the Adirondacks
• Interview with the Artist: Eric Rhoads sits down with Don to discuss his life, career, and philosophy
• Exhibit of Works: Inspirational gallery of Don’s plein air and studio paintings
• High-Speed View of the demo for your enjoyment and reference

Chapter Breakdown

Introduction

Materials

The Thumbnail

The Underpainting Wash

Refine the Drawing

Block in the Darks

Develop the Unified Whole

Advance to Finish

Finishing touches