Reworking the Sky

I want to capture the sky.  The blues and grays of an impending storm, the perfect indigo of a still autumn day, the azure of a tropical paradise. Skies are variable and tricky. 

My earlier paintings suffered from my lack of knowledge of the behavior of paint on canvas.

Here, I have a nice sketch of a lighthouse. I used my small brushes almost dry, more like a pencil sketch than a painting.  This summer,  I've been working on architectural details, and making some progress.  However, I've also learned a great deal about skies.  For a clean, believable sky, you need water and globs of white paint with a few shades of blue. Most importantly, you need a smooth, wide brush. 

Take those globs of paint and the brush and freely stroke and blend.  Fear not. Jennifer says that the top corner should be a deeper blue to lend credibility, while the ocean horizon is almost always lighter and more grayish than the foreground or the high background. 

I've made some bursts of paint where the waves are crashing against the lighthouse. 

And there is my new backdrop for the lighthouse in the storm.  It's no big deal to redo the lighthouse.  This time, I'll have a better sense of proportion and perspective.  This is a battered, bumpy canvas, one I've chosen as a learning canvas.

Just like one must kiss several toads to find a prince, I apparently have to mess up a lot of canvas to learn the sky.  The whole process makes me philosphical. 

Jennifer says

Jennifer noticed that I was painting two and sometimes three canvases at once. 

"Why are you doing that? Are you trying not to wast paint? 

That was truly part of it.  When I worked on several paintings at a time and I had gotten just the perfect shade of sky blue, or if I found a new way to accomplish shading, I transferred my new skill to the second landscape.  

"Another way you can save paint is to use a palette with a lid," she said. She explained how she took a tupperware or lidded container, put a sponge in it, and kept acrylic paints wet for days at a time. 

She's right!  I had a pie plate with a plastic lid. I put acrylics in it, went away for 9 days.  When I returned, the paint was still liquid!  This will save me so very much paint. 

Like toothpaste, once acrylics are squeezed from the tube, there is no putting it back. 

Tropical inspiration

Plein aire painting is new to Valarene and me, but not to Jennifer.  There is something magical about painting from a 3-D view right in front of you, not a flat painting.  "Don't worry so much about making straight lines.  Crooked lines drawn free-form are so much more interesting," she advised.  

Overlooking the sea, light, shadow, sparkle on water invite one to capture on canvas. 

If only we could incorporate the bird calls and wave splashes!