Complex Cloud Test

These are some tests I did to figure out how to paint complex cloud effects that I saw in the sky recently. The first one shows a night sky with a bright moon and overlapping clouds. The sky was an inky blue, while the clouds were illuminated by the moonlight. The moonlight was not very strong so it only illuminated a halo of clouds around it, after which the clouds became darker. Each cloud had a light side and a dark side. Capturing the effect also required a wet-in-wet approach to keep the clouds looking fluffy.With these criteria in mind, I painted around a blank circle with some greyish yellow-orange which became darker as the circle grew. When it hit the right moisture level I added the dark blue sky with indo blue (PB60) and perylene maroon (PR179). The first tries were too wet and the clouds lost their definition. The top right and bottom left efforts are pretty close to what I was going for. 

The bottom tests are for a sun-set sky, where the clouds have one half illuminated in a peachy light, while the other half is a dark violet. The sky fades from blue to cyan to orange at the horizon. for the first few efforts I applied the blue sky first, then tried to add the light cloud side, and finish with the shadowed sides. The top right and bottom left were painted with another strategy, I applied the peach first, painted around with sky, and then added the shadowed sides. The last few tests were close to what I hoped for.

Next time I see these kinds of clouds on location I will give it a try. It is exceptionally difficult to get this right, today I was sitting at the kitchen table, but on location it levels up another notch. It never ceases to amaze me that there is a seemingly never ending series of challenges to paint. 

Complex Cloud Test 1 and 2 watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, November 2022