Today’s Video Clip comes from our “Alexander Introductory Master Class withTom Anderson.”

This is the third painting in a series of five. He is painting the clouds in this beautiful, tropical beach scene. Today we want you to focus on his brush loading and painting technique. The combination of loading the brush properly and distributing the paint properly on the canvas is one of the techniques that Tom focuses on in this course. This saves you money and time while you create beautiful art everyone will love.

Key Points

• The paint on the canvas is wet.
• He is using an Alexander Medium Fan Brush.
• He loads the brush at a 45-degree angle by patting the brush into the paint, working it into the bristles.
• He loads a lot of paint on his brush.
• The light source comes from the right of the canvas.
• Tom angles his brush at an 11/5 angle to begin.
• The angle of the brush and the direction you press will determine where the lightest part of the cloud will be. Always think of your light direction first.
• He presses hard towards the light leaving most of the paint closest to the light.
• The paint is thicker closest to the light, giving a brighter appearance.
• Once he has firmly pressed the brush towards the light, he softens the lower portion of the cloud as he works the paint into the background color. Notice he doesn’t disturb the bright edges.
• He thins the paint as he taps it into the background.
• It is best if you wait for a couple of hours or even overnight to let the background paint “tack up” so the clouds go on even easier.
• If you don’t want to wait, use your trusty “art wipes.” (baby wipes.) and remove the background paint where you want your clouds to appear brightly. Wipe right down to the canvas to get the brightest clouds possible. The clouds will be brighter because the paint you are adding isn’t mixing with the background color.
• The clouds show up better against the blue rather than the yellow because as Bill Alexander would say, “Nothing on nothing is nothing!”

​Happy Painting!

Laurie and Dawn

PLUS: So whenever you’re ready…here are a few ways we can help you become the artist you’ve always wanted to be.

1:  Let US guide you in our Alexander Master Class 

Quickly learn the Alexander proven way to paint starting from where you are… and we’ll lead you from there. The best thing is our Master Class is a unique series of courses with live feedback taught by Master Artist, Master Teacher, Tom Anderson. It isn’t for people who have already “Mastered” painting techniques… It is for people with the passion and desire to learn everything the Old Masters and Bill Alexander knew one baby step at a time.

Watch this video to see if Master Class is right for you.

2: Join Our Membership 

Quickly become a better artist by having access to hundreds of videos led by Master Artists. You also get self-guided, step-by-step courses. And of course discounts on all our special art supplies.

Watch this video to see inside our membership.

3: Let us help you decide your next step on your art journey

Not sure how to move forward on your path to become a great artist?  Just hit reply to this message and put “Art Journey” in the subject line… tell me a little bit about your painting experience (even if you have none) and we will set up a private meeting to see if Alexander Art is a good fit for you.