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Sky Effects:, Dramatic Skies!

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82 views

Sky Effects:, Dramatic Skies!

Uploaded by

Rui
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tip #35

Sky Effects
Things are looking up! Or anyway WE are, when we pay
attention to that big, gorgeous sky overhead. As I write, huge
puffy white clouds drift by, with broad stripes of blue in
between - a lovely change from all the snow we've had
lately!

Unless we live in a crowded city where the sky is only glimpsed directly overhead or in bits nipped off between
skyscrapers, the sky can play a major part of our landscape paintings. It can provide mood, drama, excitement,
value, light ... it's amazingly versatile. (I've even left the sky as pure white paper to suggest that kind of glaring,
hot August sky - it was quite effective! Since the sky is often the lightest value in a landscape, that made sense...)

Art 35-1
Remember to notice aerial perspective when painting skies - the clouds closest to you usually appear largest and
highest in your composition (though not always), and most often they are the ones with the most rounded shapes.
As they recede nearer the horizon, they appear smaller and flatter. Watch where the shadows fall, too.

Art 35-1

Art 35-2, Dramatic Skies!


Notice movement and drama in the skies, too-
allow that big sky to dominate your composi-
tion, and keep the horizon line low. Work fast,
if you need to (the light was changing rapidly
when I did this one!)

You can pick up pale, streaky "mare's tail"


clouds with a damp brush, as at upper right on
this painting. I allowed my painting to get
almost dry, then pulled the pigment away,
blotting my brush on a tissue.

Art 35-2
Art 35-3, Let there be light!
Utilize that same technique when streaks of sunlight pierce the clouds in what I used to call "halleluias"-just
notice that they're usually quite directional and angular, and often have a kind of fan shape, narrower near their
source and opening fan-wise near the ground.

Notice, too, that the distance makes far hills progressively paler as the water molecules in the sky come between
you and those peaks (these are in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia). Paint the sky first, then add a
slightly darker value for the most distant hills. When that's dry, add another and another till you get to the closest
hills, which can be much more colorful. Finally, lift out the streaks of sunlight, blotting your brush to keep it
clean. (You can also wipe these out with a clean paper towel or rag, but I used a flat aquarelle brush.)

Art 35-3

You can find more on painting skies in several of my North Light books, including Painting Watercolors - from
your local bookstore, from North Light Books, http://www.artistsnetwork.com/nlbooks/index.asp , or from
Amazon, http://www.amazon.com - or buy it direct from me and have it signed, http://www. cathyjohnson.info.
There's also more in my Sierra Club book, The Sierra Club Guide to Painting in Nature, available at Amazon.com
as well. For more on painting skies, check my online art classes or go direct to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
watercolor_online/ for further information.

You'll find my artwork on new products in my Cafepress storeat http://www.cafepress.com/cathy_johnson and


original fine art auctions on eBay at http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/cathyjohnsonart.

© Copyright Cathy Johnson Graphics/Fine Arts, All Rights Reserved


Website: http://www.cathyjohnson.info, Email: [email protected]

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