Getting Exhibited: How UK Plein Air Artists Can Show Their Work

There's a particular shift that happens somewhere in your second or third year of painting outdoors. The work is getting stronger, the sessions are more consistent, and you start to wonder whether it deserves to be seen somewhere beyond your studio wall or your Instagram grid. That feeling is worth paying attention to. Wanting to exhibit isn't vanity; it's a sign that your practice has reached a new level of seriousness.

The good news is that plein air exhibitions UK do exist, and there are more routes into them than most outdoor painters realise. The honest news is that the UK plein air exhibition scene is more concentrated than in some other countries, and knowing where to look makes all the difference. A handful of dedicated organisations sit at the centre of things, surrounded by a wider landscape of open exhibitions, regional societies, and self-organised opportunities that are genuinely accessible to painters at an intermediate level.

This article maps every credible route, from the most selective to the most open, so you can work out which ones suit where you are right now and what steps to take next.

Why Exhibition Matters for Plein Air Artists

Showing your work in a gallery context does something that social media simply can't replicate. It forces you to edit honestly: you can't hide behind a good crop or flattering light when a painting is hanging on a wall in front of strangers. That editorial pressure alone tends to improve a practice.

There are practical benefits too. Exhibition history carries weight on an artist statement and bio in a way that follower counts don't. It can open conversations that lead to sales, commissions, and invitations to teach or lead workshops. And there's a community dimension: exhibiting alongside other painters, attending openings, and having your work seen by gallery visitors connects you to a wider world of artists in a way that working outdoors in isolation doesn't.

Perhaps most importantly, committing to a show creates accountability. It gives your painting seasons a purpose and a deadline, and that structure tends to sharpen the work.

The British Plein Air Painters: The UK's Dedicated Home for Outdoor Work

The British Plein Air Painters (BPAP) is the primary dedicated organisation for outdoor painting exhibition in the UK. If you've spent any time looking into plein air exhibitions in this country, you've almost certainly encountered their work. They represent serious, committed outdoor painters and provide the closest thing the UK has to a dedicated plein air gallery programme.

What BPAP Exhibitions Look Like

BPAP's annual exhibitions are the flagship event of the UK plein air calendar. Past exhibitions have been held at the RWS Gallery at 3 Whitcomb Street in London, a short walk from the National Gallery, making it a genuinely prestigious location for showing outdoor work. Recent exhibitions have included over 200 works, covering a wide range of UK landscapes, coastal scenes, and rural subjects. The scale and quality of what gets shown makes it an important barometer for the state of plein air painting in this country.

How to Work Towards BPAP Membership

It's worth being straightforward here: BPAP membership is for established painters with a sustained exhibition history and a demonstrably strong body of outdoor work. For most intermediate painters, this is a medium-term goal rather than an immediate one, and treating it as such is more useful than feeling discouraged by it.

The most productive approach right now is to follow BPAP on social media, study the work they show, attend their exhibitions when possible, and build your own exhibition record through the other routes described in this article. When you can look at what BPAP shows and honestly feel that your work belongs in that company, it's time to look seriously at their current membership requirements. Check britishpleinairpainters.co.uk directly for up-to-date criteria; submission windows and specific requirements change, and it's worth going to the source rather than relying on secondhand information.

Open Exhibitions and Art Society Calls

For most intermediate painters, open exhibition calls are the most accessible and realistic entry point into the formal exhibition world. These are competitions and open submissions run by established art societies, where any artist can submit work for consideration by a jury. Selection is not guaranteed, but neither is it out of reach for a painter with a developing body of work.

Several major UK societies hold annual open exhibitions that are genuinely welcoming to plein air work:

• Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI): Covers exactly the medium most plein air painters work in. Annual open exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London.
• Royal Watercolour Society (RWS): If watercolour is your medium, this is one of the most respected open calls in the country.
• Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA): Particularly relevant if your work focuses on coastal and maritime subjects, a natural fit for many plein air painters.
• Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA): Worth exploring if your outdoor work leans towards natural history subjects.
• Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA): A strong regional option with national reach, worth investigating if you're based in the Midlands or want to look beyond London.

The submission process is broadly similar across these societies: submit digital images of your work, pay an entry fee (amounts vary; check each society's current guidelines), and wait for a selection notification. Rejection is common and entirely normal. Persistence across multiple years of submissions is how most painters eventually get in.

Finding the Right Call for Your Work

The key is matching your medium, subject matter, and style to the right society. A marine painter should be targeting the RSMA. A watercolourist with a strong landscape practice should look at the RWS. An oil painter with versatile subject matter should start with the ROI. Sending work to the wrong call wastes entry fees and misses the point.

Jackson's Art newsletter is one of the most reliable ways to stay on top of open call notifications in the UK. Sign up and check it regularly; open submission windows often last only a few weeks.

Jackson's Plein Air Days and Event-Based Exhibitions

Jackson's Art organises Plein Air Days at a range of locations across the UK, including Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset and Scotney Castle in Kent. These events are open to painters at every level, which makes them genuinely different in character from the jury-based routes described above.

It's worth being clear about what these are: they're primarily painting events rather than formal gallery exhibitions. You won't be showing work in a traditional gallery context by attending one. But that doesn't mean they're a lesser option; they serve a different and genuinely useful purpose. Painting alongside other outdoor painters, seeing how your work sits next to theirs, and building connections within the UK plein air community are all things that feed directly into your longer-term exhibition ambitions.

These events are also worth attending simply for the experience of painting at well-chosen, often visually rich locations that you might not have found or had access to on your own.

Check the Jackson's Art website for current dates and locations; don't rely on fixed schedules that may have changed.

Regional Art Societies and Local Gallery Routes

The regional route is consistently underestimated by plein air painters who focus their attention on London-based exhibitions. It shouldn't be. Most regions of the UK have at least one active art society that holds annual open or member exhibitions, and many of these societies are actively welcoming to landscape and outdoor work.

Local authority galleries and arts centres are another underused route. Many run annual open submission shows that accept painting across all subjects and media, with relatively low barriers to entry compared to the major London societies. These shows won't carry the same prestige as the ROI or RWS, but they provide legitimate exhibition credits and, importantly, they put your work in front of a local audience that may be genuinely interested in buying paintings of familiar landscapes.

National Trust and heritage properties are an emerging thread worth watching. Events such as the collaboration between Warwickshire Open Studios and Charlecote Park in 2024 demonstrate that heritage organisations are increasingly interested in plein air painting as both a practical activity and an exhibition opportunity. These kinds of partnerships can offer unusual and atmospheric settings for showing outdoor work, and they're worth researching in your own region.

How to Find Regional Opportunities Near You

Start with Arts Council England's listings (artscouncil.org.uk) or the equivalent body for your nation: Creative Scotland (creativescotland.com) or Arts Council of Wales. Search for "open exhibition" combined with your county or region. Look for regional art societies by name; most have active websites with submission calendars. If you find a society that seems relevant, contact them directly to ask about open submission windows. Most are run by artists and are far more approachable than their formal names might suggest.

Organising Your Own Exhibition or Paint-Out

Self-organised shows are a legitimate and well-trodden route that many established painters used early in their careers. A small group exhibition, properly planned and presented, can generate serious attention and provides genuine exhibition history for your CV.

The model is straightforward: gather three to six plein air painters whose work you respect, find a local venue willing to host a show (cafes, community arts centres, independent galleries, and working studios are all worth approaching), and organise the logistics between you. That means venue hire, a shared hanging system, invitations, publicity, and clear pricing for any work for sale.

The effort involved is real and shouldn't be understated. A well-run group show requires planning time, some upfront cost, and good communication between participants. But the benefits are proportionate: you control the timing, the context, and the narrative around the work. A plein air-focused group show in the right venue, well publicised locally, can attract collectors, local press attention, and invitations to future opportunities.

Building an Exhibition-Ready Portfolio

Before submitting to any exhibition, it's worth honestly assessing what you have to show. "Exhibition-ready" means more than having a few strong paintings; it means having a coherent body of work that tells a consistent story about your practice.

Aim for ten to twenty works that feel connected: painted in similar conditions, exploring a related set of subjects or locations, or sharing a consistent approach to light and mark-making. Individual standout pieces matter less than a sustained body of work that demonstrates you paint regularly and with intention.

Presentation counts. Consistent framing across a body of work makes it look considered and professional. Unframed, inconsistently presented work, however strong the painting underneath, tends to underperform in jury submissions. Photographing your work properly before any submission is essential; poor photographs will undermine good paintings, full stop.

You'll also need a short artist statement for most submissions. Three to five sentences that describe your outdoor practice clearly, why you paint on location, and what subjects or landscapes draw you. Keep it direct and specific; avoid vague language about light and atmosphere that could apply to any painter.

Practical Steps to Take Today

Getting exhibited doesn't happen in a single leap. It happens through a series of small, consistent actions taken over months and years. Here's where to start:

1. Follow BPAP on social media and spend time studying the work they show. Note the quality, the consistency, the range of subjects. Let it give you an honest picture of the standard you're working towards.
2. Visit the websites of two or three open societies, such as the ROI, RWS, and RSMA, and read their submission guidelines. Note submission windows and entry requirements so they don't catch you off-guard.
3. Sign up to the Jackson's Art newsletter for regular open call notifications. This is one of the most practical single steps you can take towards staying informed about exhibition opportunities in the UK.
4. Search for your regional art society and find out when their next open submission window opens. If you can't find one easily, contact your local arts council for recommendations.
5. Audit your current portfolio. Do you have ten or more strong, cohesive plein air works that feel connected to each other? If not, set that as a target for your next painting season.
6. Photograph your best six to ten pieces properly if you haven't already. You can't submit digital images to any open call until you have good photographs of the work.
7. Draft a short artist statement of three to five sentences describing your plein air practice. What draws you outdoors? What landscapes do you paint? Why on location? Having this written and ready saves time when submission windows open.
8. Consider approaching one or two fellow plein air painters about a small joint show. Even a preliminary conversation can be the first step towards making it happen.

Where to Look for Calls and Upcoming Events

Staying on top of exhibition opportunities requires a few reliable information sources checked regularly:

• britishpleinairpainters.co.uk for BPAP news, exhibition announcements, and membership information
• jacksonsart.com and the Jackson's Art newsletter for plein air event listings and open call notifications
• artscouncil.org.uk (England), creativescotland.com, or the Arts Council of Wales for searchable listings of open exhibitions and funded arts events
• Your regional art society's website, whatever that is in your area; most post submission dates on their homepage or in a dedicated members section
• Instagram hashtags including #pleinairpainting, #ukpleinair, and #pleinairuk for community news, event sharing, and seeing what other painters in the UK are working towards

The landscape of plein air exhibitions in the UK is genuinely navigable once you know the key organisations and how they work. There's no single perfect path, but there are real, accessible steps you can take starting this week. The paintings are already there; the task now is finding them the right wall.