The Sky’s the Limit

You often need more than just a simple graduated wash to paint a convincing and interesting sky, and once you start thinking about ‘’The heavens above’’ the possibilities soon become limitless, In my last article (don’t turn the lights out) we talked about how the foreground shadows will move slowly as the day wears on, and how important light and shade is when painting a convincing landscape, so today I’m looking at the source of that light ‘’the sky’’ often restless while at other times tranquil, a never ending kaleidoscope of loose shapes or distant stars, that you could paint from the same spot 3 or 4 times on the same day and have a completely different sky to work with, not that you necessarily have to paint what is in front of you anyway, later no one looking at your painting can say that sky’s not right, if its right for the mood your trying to suggest, that’s