"Utah Clouds" 9x12, oilWe're back from Utah now and home in Sedona for a bit. Toward the end of last week, we began to have a few clouds. We even had a downright cloudy day! Clouds are always fun to paint, so I did the following demonstration showing how to keep things simple but interesting.
On the day we had overcast skies, I decided to do something fun. Students are always trying to mix the exact color they need for a shape, and this desire always seems to cause a certain amount of anxiety. So, I showed them how to be fearless! I blocked in the following piece with pure primaries and secondaries. For the sky, I used out-of-the-tube Ultramarine Blue; for the mountain, out-of-the-tube Cadmium Red Light; and for the foreground, I used a raw green mixture of Cadmium Yellow Light and Ultramarine Blue. It looked like something a five-year-old might do with poster paints. But then I went in and adjusted the colors and values, dragging thicker paint over the underpainting. They were surprised how easy it was to adjust these colors. I think I even inspired a student or two. (I wish I'd taken a photo of the underpainting - if anyone out there did, send me a copy!)
"Kayenta Clouds" 9x12, oil
