Before we get started notice how Bill’s sky already has the “hint” of clouds in it. Because of how he applied the colors to his sky (mottling), he could leave the sky alone. Why would he do this? If the sky was not to be the focal point of this painting (it is, of course), he would be finished with it.
Bill introduces black into his color palette so that he can create the dramatic, shadow side of his clouds. Bill starts with the darker color in the center of the painting and allows the dark to lighten up as he moves toward the horizon. This creates depth in his clouds just like the original colors created depth in his sky. He doesn’t have to worry about cleaning his brush because he’s moving into the lighter area of his painting so the shadow is automatically getting lighter as he moves to the horizon.
In highlighting his clouds, Bill thins his Titanium white with a bit of Magic White™. If you are using our new Magic White™ you can apply that directly to the canvas since it is already a thinner version of Titanium White. Alternatively, you can use a drop or two (no more, please) of our new Magic Clear™ oil. (Our new oil is very concentrated and a drop or two – at most – is all you need to thin the paint to the consistency Bill is using in this video.
Bill is not highlighting his clouds as he might highlight a mountain. In highlighting a mountain Bill just lays the white on top of the mountain base color. You’ll notice Bill is doing a lot of blending as he “pushes” the white into the shadow he created earlier.
Bill sort of glosses over this point, but it is very important in this method of painting. After Bill “hits” the top edge of the shadow area, he “washes it in” to the base shadow color. This is what Alexander Master Artist Tom Anderson describes as “destroying the edge.” You never want to see a distinct edge between your colors. But you also have to be careful that when blending two colors together you don’t create a third color (as if you intentionally mixed two colors on your palette). The technique of destroying the edge is done lightly and is not overworked.
Abc says
Excellent, I haven’t had time to watch this self taught lesson. It is amazing!
Fran
Andrew Sitton says
Love that spreading the brush technique. I’ve been using the corner of the brush and swirling it about… this way is faster, and also more dramatic instead of having a sky full of uniform ‘fluffy’ clouds.