Inspired by my Tuscan retreat…
I came home with a deep connection to my passion for painting clouds.
Though I have painted clouds for many years, I never felt truly passionate about painting them before. I think you can see the difference in this painting.
Can you feel the fresh air? Do you feel the cool breeze moving the clouds? Do you feel lifted up?
When I returned from Italy, I brought home half a dozen small cloud paintings. I was itching to swing a big brush on canvas grande!
This 30″ x 40″ Russian linen canvas was my ticket. I blocked in layers of translucent clouds with a large spatula-shaped palette knife. Then I waited.
A week later the canvas was dry. I’d been working on other cloud paintings and had new ideas about glazes. Mixing up some very thin, transparent colors ~ I scumbled atmospheric clouds and sky into the rough woven texture of the linen.
Passion for Painting Clouds ~ Retreat Discoveries
Signature Style & Passion
Scumbled is a painting term that refers to light over dark, with a scraggly brush marks. The calligraphy of a painting is very important, like a signature. This is an extension of how one would sign their name ~ without thinking!
During my retreat I had focused on painting this way. Thinking about my painting being an extension of my signature, I sought to release any idea of trying to control it. Similar to a signature, while we might wish to have it be legible, most often we simply make our mark and move on.
What if I could paint this way? I wondered.
This painting is the answer I received.
I rather like it! I’m glad I asked.
Clouds, Sunsets & Dream Series paintings>