How to Paint Clouds: Painting Tips


How to Paint Clouds When They Just Won't Cooperate

I've painted many clouds during my career as an artist, but every once in a while I run into a problem.

I'm going to show you some samples of clouds that I have done and then show you  the one I had so much trouble with and what I did about it.



The first are some white puffy clouds with a little pink in them. I like to always add a small hint of another color just to add warmth to the clouds. This was done with water-soluble oils. No problem.


 
The second represents clouds later in the day with more gray and some yellow ochre and pink in them. This was  done with regular oils. No problem.


   


The third is early morning when the sunrises through the slight mist of the dawn. I used pastels to do this painting. With the texture of the paper, it was very easy to make the sun hazy around the edges.




Where I ran into the problem was with this one.


Do you see those clouds over the right side of the mountains?

My brain just did not want to accept that the light was coming from the bottom.

What Was My Solution?

I turned the picture upside down.

 


Now my brain could accept where the high-lights were supposed to be. I tricked it into thinking that the bottom was now the top.

I had tried to paint it three different times with the picture right-side up, and I had to blank it out and try again.

Finally early one morning I woke up and had the brilliant idea to turn the painting upside down. I had remembered doing just that in a wonderful book I had read years ago on drawing techniques,

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain."

It is a great book if you want to learn to draw. I highly recommend it. I've include a link to it.


I hope that you have found this article interesting and informative.

If you want to see more as I write them, please

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You can see more of my art work and
 other painting tips at filarecki.com



 

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  • 4/22/2009 12:55 PM Linda wrote:
    Liked your technique and the solution to your problem.
    Reply to this
    1. 4/22/2009 9:23 PM Judy Filarecki wrote:
      Thanks for the positive support. I hope you will be happy following my progress in this blog.
      Judy

      Reply to this
  • 4/22/2009 6:05 PM JS wrote:
    If I am left-handed, what side of my brain do I use?
    Reply to this
    1. 4/22/2009 9:22 PM Judy Filarecki wrote:
      Your using both sides, but you are so creative as well as logical, that both are powerful. Thanks for the comment..
      Judy

      Reply to this
  • 8/22/2010 1:26 PM Australian Aboriginal Art wrote:
    Nice paintings. I also admire what you did to solve your problem. There are really times that you can't just come up with what you are expecting when painting. So being critical thinker would help a lot in solving these kinds of problem, like what you did.
    Reply to this
    1. 8/22/2010 5:14 PM Judy Filarecki wrote:
      I'm glad you enjoyed the paintings and the solution for dealing with a mental block when painting those clouds. I looked at your web site and especially enjoyed seeing the "Working Artists" section. I wondered how such large paintings could be painted and found it very informative. Thanks for sharing. Judy
      Reply to this
  • 8/26/2010 2:53 PM Binaural Beats wrote:
    That was an amazing piece of writing. I came across your article and found it very useful.
    Reply to this
    1. 8/26/2010 3:15 PM Judy Filarecki wrote:
      I'm glad you found it interesting. It's amazing how a little trick like that saver hours of frustration. I just wish I had used it sooner than I did. Judy
      Reply to this
  • 9/6/2010 11:19 AM wrote:
    This is my first time at your blog and I've really enjoyed looking around. I will come back again in the future to check out some of the other articles.
    Reply to this
    1. 9/15/2010 3:32 PM Judy Filarecki wrote:
      I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you find other articles of interest.....Judy
      Reply to this
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    Reply to this
  • 10/20/2010 8:22 PM jim wrote:
    thanks for the helpful information here, it really came in handy for a project of mine
    Reply to this
  • 10/25/2010 3:12 PM daniel wrote:
    An informative piece of writing, lots of thanks for giving it online.
    Reply to this
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    Reply to this
  • 12/3/2010 11:12 AM unknown wrote:
    I do have to admit that I enjoy reading your blog, even when I do not concur with you. I guess the main thing is to make people think. One of these days I will get about to beginning a blog. It will probably be much more for blowing off steam and less informative than yours is though. Keep writing and I'll keep reading through.
    Reply to this
    1. 12/7/2010 11:36 PM Judy wrote:
      Thanks for your interest. I don't seem to have enough time write as often as I would like, but I'll get to it soon.
      Reply to this
  • 12/6/2010 6:59 PM reimonds wrote:
    Thanks for that advices. Did you use any programs like photoshop?
    Reply to this
    1. 12/7/2010 11:32 PM Judy wrote:
      Actually, I used Photoshop to stitch together three frames from a video I took of the Catalina Mountains. That way I had a good reference photo to base my painting on.
      Reply to this
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    Reply to this
    1. 12/15/2010 1:25 PM Judy wrote:
      Thanks, I'm glad you like it. The blog format is through Go Daddy and is a free part of my having my website with them.
      Reply to this
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    1. 12/22/2010 9:53 PM Judy Filarecki wrote:
      Glad it helped and hopefully brightened your day.
      Reply to this
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    Reply to this
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    Reply to this
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    Reply to this
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    Reply to this
  • 3/30/2011 4:40 PM Brian wrote:
    Hello Mr. Expert,

    When are going to write up a follow up article on this post... is it going to be anytime soon?


    _______
    "We run a Lawyer Directory about Family Law" ...
    ( http://www.QSLaw.com )
    Reply to this

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