Day 25 - "Stormy Sky"

Day 25 of a challenge. Ok ..Stormy Sky - Sky is a very compelling subject for me to paint. Mostly because it's challenging ..Every time ...A stormy sky with its dark, dramatic clouds or the pinks and reds of a sunset is very appealing. But without of a some knowledge on the cloud forms and their characteristics will be really hard to capture...Plus, knowing how to paint those  scenes will help easily add credible clouds to any painting

Here is the classification of a basic groups of clouds:

How are Clouds Named?
The long, sheet- or ribbon-like clouds found in rows at low altitudes are stratus clouds. Rows of small, cotton-wool clouds found at similar altitudes are called stratus cumulus. Large, billowing, cotton-wool clouds are cumulusclouds. These can extend to great altitudes; when the top flattens out in an anvil shape it gets called a cumulonimbus cloud (nimbus is a term used to describe a dark, rain-bearing cloud). Cumulonimbus clouds are the ones that generate dramatic thunderstorms and hail. The whispy clouds found at very high altitudes are cirrus clouds; these are made from ice crystals.

Painting Stratus Clouds?
You want  visibly long, horizontal sweeps across your painting, so you can use a flat, wide brush. The lines of the cloud should almost be parallel, but paint them freehand, If they're perfectly parallel they'll look artificial. Remember that perspective applies to clouds too, so they become narrower (smaller) and paler the further away they are. But the most important thing is EDGES - remember to create a subtle transition between darks and lights, cools and warms 

Suggested colors: A light and a dark blue, such as cerulean and ultramarine, for the sky; yellow ocher and Payne's gray for the 'dirty', rain-loaded bits of the clouds. 

Painting Cumulus Clouds?
Think of the strong winds that whip up these clouds, and try to translate this action into brush strokes. Work fast and energetic not slow and painstakingly meticulous. Resist the temptation to make these clouds simply white with dark shadows. Clouds reflect colours and may include reds, mauves, yellows, grays. Concentrate on the shadows, which give the clouds shape.
Suggested colors: alizarin crimson for pink tints; yellow ochre and cadmium orange for golds; Payne's gray or burnt sienna mixed with one of the blues used in the sky, for shadows.

Painting Cirrus Clouds?
These are feathery clouds very high up in the atmosphere, swept along by high winds. Be light-handed to capture their wispiness. If they're pure white, consider lifting off the blue of your sky to reveal a white ground rather than painting with an opaque white, trying to leave parts white, or using masking fluid.
Suggested colors: alizarin crimson for pink tints; yellow ocher and cadmium orange for golds.

( Information included in this blog entry based on article by By Marion Boddy-Evans)

Stormy Sky - oil on linen, 8x10