THE CLUE OF IMPRESSIONIST SKIES

The clue of Impressionist Skies


Anyone who has watched a cloudy sky for extended periods (and who but visual artists do ?) would know that it is a rare day when the sky has not changed fairly substantially in appearance within 15 minutes. The sun moves and alters the relationship of lights and darks within a cloud, winds high in the atmosphere blow clouds across the sky.Clouds change their shape, evaporate or come into being.

You are an impressionist painter working directly from the landscape as say Pissaro and Monet did. To render in paint a cloudy sky as you actually saw it the moment you first looked at it you have less than 15 minutes before the sky's appearance changes substantially.

Is it possible to paint a cloudy sky directly from Nature ?