Episode 13: Greg Barnes on Plein Air Painting, Pastel Mastery & Building a Full-Time Art Career

What does it take to walk away from a stable career and build a full-time life as a painter? Greg Barnes did exactly that after 9/11—and hasn't looked back since. The Charlotte-based pastel and oil painter joins Kari and Lisa to share the journey, techniques, and philosophy behind his expressive, light-filled work.

About Greg Barnes Greg Barnes has been a full-time painter since 2002, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Known for his impressionistic pastels and oils that capture the light, atmosphere, and feeling of being in a place, Greg has earned prestigious awards including Best in Show at Plein Air New Bern and the Irvine Museum Award at Maui Plein Air. In 2021, he was selected for the ArtPop Street Gallery, with his work displayed on billboards and airport screens across Charlotte—and somehow, on a restaurant wall in Miami too.

In This Episode

• From a Wake Forest fine arts degree to 15 years in commercial work—until 9/11 prompted a life-changing pivot
• How portrait commissions led to pastel landscapes, art festivals across the country, and eventually plein air invitationals
• Why Greg chose to master pastel first before adding oil (and the gallery realities that drove that decision)
• His "order from chaos" teaching philosophy—and how he puts his intuitive process into words for students
• The key lessons he absorbed from mentors Albert Handel and Scott Christiansen: emotional mark-making, design, and letting the leaves "dance"
• How the plein air invitational world works: the difference between open events and invitation-only shows, and how word of mouth is everything
• What a Quick Draw is and why it's one of the best ways to get noticed as an emerging plein air painter
• Deciding between pastel and oil in the field—and why it's almost always an intuitive call

Upcoming Workshops & Events

• Tallapoosa School of Fine Arts, Alabama — back-to-back pastel workshops (late April)
• Gloucester Plein Air, Gloucester, Virginia — June
• Cashiers Plein Air, Cashiers, North Carolina — July
• Wild Acres Pastel Workshop, Blue Ridge Mountains, NC — one week, all-inclusive, under $1,000 (spots still available)
• Monhegan Island, Maine — August (informal paint-alongs; reach out if you'll be there)
• Plein Air Down Under, Perth, Australia — later this year

Find Greg Website & workshop info: barnstudios.com

Also Mentioned

• Lisa's pastel workshop with Rosemary & Co., Yorkshire, England — June
• IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) Convention — June
• Pastel Today newsletter — the go-to resource for all things pastel

The Pastel Podcast is hosted by Kari Stober and Lisa Skelly. New episodes monthly. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, watch on YouTube, or visit thepastelpodcast.com.