Three (Almost) Perfect Clouds

This painting is too large to scan in its entirety. The first and last images below are digital photos that do not quite capture the richness and depth of this piece. Please refer to the detailed scans for a more accurate representation of the hues and textures that make this painting unique.

This is a unique piece. Playful and peaceful at the same time. With deep layered blues and quiet colorful clouds. It is like sneaking away to lie in the grass and watch the sky. This unusual layered painting has subtle hues, touchable textures and clean clear lines. In a room full of art, this one gets notices. It sucks you in. Maybe it is the open, minimalist design, or maybe it is just that we all enjoy good clouds. You cannot buy a cloud. Clouds cannot be captured. No one owns them. They are the epitome of freedom. Like some elusive magical land. Clouds help keep things in perspective. The lines that divide up the space in this piece are actually three dimensional ridges.

I am hopeful that this warm bit of sky will bring a few productive daydreams your way.

How "Three (Almost) Perfect Clouds" was created..... This piece began with black gesso primer and then I applied long thin beads of acrylic modeling paste with my fingers. I carefully crafted natural divisions to carve the space into three separate "rooms". Once that layer dried, I used palette knives to apply many layers of color. The sky in this piece evolved over the course of several days. Colors were applied and then rubbed or scraped off to give this piece the weathered-yet-modern appearance that I often seek in my work. Eventually, I used detail brushes to paint outlines where the clouds would be. Then I used brushes, knives, rags, and my fingers to apply just about every color to the cloud shapes. Finally, I used soft brushes and thin washes to blend colors in the sky and in the clouds. I smoothed things out. And I used tiny little detail brushes to paint the strong black lines that contain each cloud, to add black to the ridges, and to add some key highlights that make the clouds just pop. The sides of the canvas were painted mainly with palette knives and they are a mottled mixture of grays and black.

(The sides of the canvas are painted and textured with a mottled mix of deep gray and black. This is a digital photo. The scans above are more accurate.)

This piece was painted on a fine, hand-stretched canvas. A fellow in Arizona makes these just for professional artists. It is incredibly sturdy, built on hefty kiln-dried wood that will keep your painting in proper shape for generations. The deep, staple-free sides of the canvas provide a striking profile and allow you to display your new painting unframed.