Blondheim Art Original Paintings

Prairie Sky
6x8 inches
oil on panel
Unframed
52.00
Purchase HERE


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Painters Tip


Look at the Sky


I do a fair amount of plein air work and my observation has taught me that as you look at the sun, the sky is bleached out around it. As you look away the color becomes richer. The same for the horizon area. As your eyes travel up further, the color changes and becomes a deeper richer blue. When you paint, think about that. Don't make the sky color the same unless the sky is minimal in the painting. That is another issue too. Depending on your composition, you will need to make decisions on whether to minimize the detail in the sky or emphasize it. If your emphasis is on the land or tree mass, with little sky, don't try to make the sky important. If you have a low horizon and beautiful sky conditions, emphasize the sky instead, minimizing the land mass.


I often see paintings with very little sky, and yet the painter has done all kinds of elaborate clouds, jamming them into the painting like filling a sack. They are annoyingly distracting and take away from the real focus in the painting, which are elements on the land.

Think about what is important in the painting, the sky or the land and let the focus dominate and be the star.