Sunny Skies
None of us suspected what nature had in store for us. The morning started out with sunny skies, moderately chilly temperature, and a comfortable breeze. Our Hull Plein Air Painters group gathered at 2 private homes on Hampton Circle, overlooking the bay. The ground was damp from an earlier rain. I didn’t want to get my feet wet, so I set up my easel on a covered porch and got to work.
The beautiful blue water view was accented with dense clouds, which I decided to highlight in my painting. When emphasizing the sky, I lower my horizon line. It took some effort, as I have a tendency to start in the center of the vertical space. This primary division of space was sketched with light pencil marks, tweaking until I felt there was plenty of room for that special sky.
NOTE: Click on an image to see a larger version of it!
Then, I loosely blocked in the largest shapes with a firm kind of soft pastels called NuPastels. I started with the darkest areas and took extra care painting the base of the clouds. With pastels, I generally work from dark to light, although there is a yin yang pendulum always at play. The mid-range tones came next.
Ominous!
The sun was warming me, so I took off my heavy sweatshirt. A half hour later, the breeze picked up. Then, it began to get windy and my easel nearly toppled over. Once I got resettled, I looked up and realized that the clouds had changed from a lovely, lighthearted, wispy white to an ominous, threatening, dense mass!
Suddenly, a Squall!
The water had turned a deep green. It sure looked like a storm was brewing. The wind grew stronger and I decided to move my easel to the side of the porch, behind a wall for protection. I barely had time to make the move when the rain came.
Not just simple rain, a furious torrent of wind and water! Swirling sideways, lifting brushes off their surfaces, scattering things everywhere! Time to pack up and get inside!
I barely had time to block in my painting. Thankfully, I was able to get the painting off the easel as fast as possible. This is what I was able to accomplish on site:
Resume Work
A few days later, at home on our deck, I resumed work on the painting. I lowered the horizon line even further, reduced the height of the land, and got immersed in the cloud formations. The lighthearted clouds became more ominous and threatening. The water became more green and predictive of a storm.
Finished!
I was really happy with the finished painting. In fact, it’s already matted and framed because I decided to submit it to an upcoming show. Our Hull Plein Air Painters group is having a group exhibit at the Frame Center in Hanover, MA, Sept. 19 to Oct. 11. The reception is Oct. 2, 6–8pm. I’ve posted the details on my calendar. Artwork is always more vibrant when seen live and up close! Come and see for yourself.
Suddenly
Naming artwork can be challenging! There’s such a memorable story behind this piece. It seemed appropriate to name the painting Suddenly.
My Other Cloud Paintings
Clouds definitely capture my attention. I can get lost in them and love painting them. After finishing Suddenly, I reviewed my previous paintings where clouds are featured. The clouds are mostly floating in warm and sunny skies. It looks like Suddenly is my first painting with storm clouds.
A few recent works with clouds
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