Skies of (Painted) Color

Sailing In5x7 Watercolor on 90# Paper©BEDeuel  Bronson Hill Arts 2008

When we see those perfect sunny-day clouds floating above us, we see white puffs moving across the horizon, usually against a bright blue sky. As painters & photographers & poets, we also know that those clouds are never just "white". There are blues, purples, pinks, even greens mingled in the vapor canvases up there. 

Vermont Sunset
11x14 Water Soluble Oils on Gallery Stretched Canvas©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2013

Painting a sky above a landscape is generally easy to capture, largely because it is put into perspective by the foreground. The colors of sky and land intertwine & reflect, but the differences in textures also help to create necessary depth.

Once you're painting upwardly, as if you are in the clouds with your subject, gaining depth, I find, is very different to portray. There are colors & shadows to help, but keeping proportion and perspective is not so easy for me.

This is the 2nd attempt I've made to paint a specific subject. And, even though I'm generally happy with the cloud formations on both pieces as they are, they will not work for the composition I want to create. 

This is what I did with the first attempt:

Start of Balloon...

Balloon Amidst Clouds
20x16 Water Soluble Oils on
Gallery Stretched Canvas
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2014

  













And, yes, I am very pleased with the whole piece with setting the hot air balloon against the clouds. However, if you look, you'll see that there is a lack of shadows to create a depth to the clouds. The mix of pink, blue & white definitely gives one the sense of clouds, but, the expanse of the cloud cover is limited. So, technically, this is the first "fail" to paint "in the clouds".


This is the second attempt:

Start of Mystery Blue Skies

Next Step of Mystery Blue Skies

Right now,the clouds are almost monochromatic: Prussian blue mostly, a touch of Cerulean blue, and titanium white. The base is somewhat "starred" with the colors being crosshatched. (I've discovered that I really, really like this effect. Maybe I like it too much!) The next step is to add some "shine" to it with some golden/yellow hues... after I fix the mottled clouds to the right-hand side of the canvas, that is. I like the depth of the shadows as they are, though. So one hurdle overcome since the last attempt. You can also probably tell that the 2 canvases were started from the same template photo. Hmmm....

BUT!

The clouds are too small & distant for the subject I want to paint. So it's time to rethink what subject I can do with this canvas! 

High Clouds
6x9 Watercolor on 140#
Canson Paper
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2011

The encouraging aspect of all of this is that, each time, I see a breakthrough in executing a design. Always learning, learning, learning! Just looking back at this earlier attempt at clouds makes the point for me. I do still love this piece, but the flow of the clouds is not really there.

What discoveries have you uncovered with your artistic techniques of late? 

Ice Fog
7x5 Water Soluble Oil on Gallery Stretched Canvas
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2011

And, yes, it is still colder than any winter in memory around here. Hopefully, not so much where you are!

Flowers & Five Senses

Bountiful Blooms
8x10" Watercolor & Water Soluble Pencil on 140# Strathmore 300 Paper
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts

For so many years, I have gardened without gloves. My hands have been scratched, scraped, gouged, & bruised. Repeatedly.

With time, my skin also continues to get more and more sensitive to saps, sticky leaves and ant nibbles. So, this year, I've been trying to wear gloves to keep some of the "damage" under control.

I can't do it. It's too unnatural.

Just in the tedious task of weeding, it is much easier to "feel" where to grip the stem and how to twist and pull the noxious plant without gloves.

Then I started thinking about how tactile gardening can be: the silky sensation of a petal, the waxy smoothness of the pocket of a deep bloom. The strength that supports a multitude of colored crowns and the delicate curliques of a climbing vine can be sensed through naked fingertips.

Reaching deeper into the thought, it became obvious how the flowers in our gardens and in nature's fields envelop all of our five senses.

The visual beauty can be overwhelming in the flow of colors and textures. Either spread sparsely, elegantly amid grasses and trees or clustered like happy children, blending into a mosiac of life, the sight can be stunning.

Of course, inhaling the sweetness and freshness of blossoms is a treat beyond description. Memories and dreams are triggered with the slightest whiff on the breeze. Spring and summer become eternal, following a trail of scents that only flowers can create.

What do you hear in the garden? Whispers of the air sharing a laugh with you. The joyful hum of the bumblebees and the honey bees getting high on nectar. The swooping of swallow's wings, the hovering of the hummingbird.

How do you taste a garden? The berries, the grapes, yes. But just plucking a spike of chive and savoring the spontaneous zing can be delightful. Harvesting sunflower seeds, brewing chickweed tea. There are so many little surprises waiting to be sampled.

The next time you're feeling dull and uninspired, find a garden. Then let your senses run free!