Many landscape paintings miss this key ingredient Your first step to enhancing your paintings with expressive skies We'll focus on improving on photos for paintings, designing with your heart, understanding front lighting and painting towering clouds and warm light. This is a small lesson from a larger course that I'm building, which will be called Painting Expressive Skies. I expect that to take me 6 months or more. I'm already three months into it. I thought it'd be nice for you to see this one for free, just to whet your appetite for painting expressive skies, and also just to get some feedback from you. If you have any constructive criticism, I'd love to hear from you. This demo is in acrylics but it's fine for oils too. Just 6 steps I’ll guide you all the way. Design Our job as artists is to bring people's attention to what we find beautiful. In order to do that you need to first identify what those things are for you, and then enhance or exaggerate them. In this one it was towering clouds and warm light. Preparing the surface It's worth putting in the time to get your painting surface ready to work on. This is an MDF board with 3 coats of acrylic gesso primer and a light toned base coat of yellow ochre plus white. This will help warm the painting and shimmer against the blue-greys. Sky The sky gradation is the first building block. We can add more warmth into the sky gradation to enhance the feel of the sunset light. Expressive Clouds Here's your chance to practice making more variety in your paintings, which makes them more interesting to paint and more interesting to view. Create variety in: Shapes - big vs small, complex vs simple. Colour - warm vs cool, vibrant vs greyed. Edges - soft vs hard. Texture - smooth vs rough, thin vs thick. You need all that variety to keep things interesting and expressive. Foreground Detail Adding small details in the foreground makes the clouds appear even larger. So by painting one, you're enhancing the other. If you want the style to remain painterly and expressive throughout, you can create the detail using texture, rather than tiny descriptive brushstrokes. Finshing Touches A fine signing brush can add a few crisp details like seagulls and floatsam on the beach to add a touch of realism and scale. I'll take you step by step through this whole rich process and you can choose which parts you'd like to try out in your own work. Enjoy!
Step 7Blocking in the sky
What type of brush is recommended for blocking in the sky?
A synthetic flat brush with a very crisp edge and nice long bristles is recommended. It holds a lot of paint, allowing brushstrokes to go further and creating a calligraphic effect.
How should I start blocking in the sky?
Start by blocking in where the horizon, foliage, and the line of the beach are. This gives you lots of room for the sky to do its thing.
What is the initial step in creating the sky's gradation?
Begin by creating a gradation from light to dark in the background. Use white, a little bit of yellow, and a tiny bit of phthalo blue to create a greenish color, and brush it on the canvas.
Why is it okay to leave bits of the canvas showing through?
Leaving bits of the canvas showing through is okay and is something to aim for in this painting. It adds to the texture and depth of the sky.
Why do we work from light to dark in this painting?
We work from light to dark to avoid dulling the colors. In this case, working from dark to light would dull the green color with blue, so working from light to dark helps maintain the vibrancy.
How do you achieve the gradation effect in the sky?
Achieve the gradation effect by adding very small amounts of color to the white and blending with softer strokes into the paint you've just put down. This creates a smooth transition from light to dark.
What direction is the sunlight coming from in this painting?
The sunlight is coming from behind us and a little to the side, making the sky a little lighter in that direction.
Summary & key takeaways
In this chapter, I set out to guide you through the process of capturing the mesmerizing beauty of tropical skies with front lighting. From the initial block-in to the final details, we've explored how to harness the warm, bold colors of a sunset and the subtle gradations of light and shadow that front lighting offers. My hope is that you now feel more confident in using these techniques to create your own expressive skies, filled with depth and atmosphere.
We've delved into the importance of preparing your canvas with a warm base layer and protecting it to maintain the integrity of your painting. By carefully selecting your palette and understanding the nuances of color mixing, you've learned to create dynamic skies and clouds that convey movement and emotion. The journey through painting the ocean and beach has shown how to use texture and color to bring your scene to life.
As you continue your painting journey, remember that each brushstroke is an opportunity for expression. Embrace the unexpected, and let your artistic instincts guide you. I hope this chapter has inspired you to explore new techniques and to see the world through the lens of a painter, ever curious and eager to capture the beauty around you.
Points to remember
- Embrace the bold, warm colors of a sunset to enhance your sky.
- Use front lighting to create subtle depth with light and shadow.
- Prepare your canvas with a warm base layer for color harmony.
- Protect your base layer with gloss medium varnish if using interactive acrylics.
- Select a palette that allows for vibrant and harmonious color mixing.
- Work from light to dark to maintain color vibrancy in the sky.
- Use impasto techniques to add texture and depth to clouds.
- Vary shapes and colors to keep your painting engaging and natural.
