I pulled out some 140# rough press watercolor paper to paint a few of the skies from the recent photos. It might be better to paint from the sky itself, but I haven't done that yet. Next time we get some stormy skies, I could set up in the sun room and use the sky as my model...
11.5 x 15 inches on 140# rough paper
April Skies No. 1 (so you know there will be a No. 2, right?)
I don't have rules like:
You should only paint from life.
You should never paint from a photograph.
You must go out in the field to paint plein air if you want to get good at painting landscapes.
(As Dr. Gregory House said, "Rules are just simple guidelines for people who are too stupid to think for themselves.")
8 comments:
Wonderful sky Rhonda!
Looks way better than in real :))
Can't wait for the second one!
Have a wonderful day
Tinna ✐
I love the moody sky. It speaks April, here at least. Winter doesn't seem to want to vacate the premises this year!
Yes rules are made to be broken. My caveat is that you need to know the techniques and the rules before you can break them.
Watercolor is a perfect medium for painting stormy skies! I like the movement in this piece. Both grasses and skies seem to imply motion.
Love the stormy sky. I'm still laughing at your quote from Dr. House.
I'm so glad you wrote what you wrote about rules, Rhonda. I don't have them when it comes to art either. I think this is just so pretty and I love the softness of the greens...
Absolutely beautiful RH!
I don't believe in rules either; whatever works for each of us. But it is fun to try a different way of doing things. For me, I've tried painting skies from pics and I just can't get the freshness or color I want.
I love it also. Artists have been using photos since before there were photos. I don't know how you would get the same light and movement without using photos. I remember seeing a painting and the photo that John Singer Sargent used. From what I read he started the painting in the field and used several photos to complete it in the studio.
Thank you so much, Tinna, Jeanette (yes, learn the rules, then use those that work for you!), Carol (lots of blustery skies for April this year), Carol King (miss Dr. House!), Sherry, EM, and Rachel (didn't know Sargent worked from photos).
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