Painting Clouds
January 22, 2010
Palouse Cloudburst
Pictured: Karen, my instructor and yours truly
Pictured: Karen, my instructor and yours truly
As I continue my pursuit of painting, I returned to the only instructor I have had personal lessons with. Karen lives here on the island about a 25 minute drive down West Beach to her home and studio overlooking Hurricane Ridge and the Olympics Mountains rising out of the sound. It's a wonderful place to view clouds and water which were the subjects that I was seeking help with.
Pictured above are Karen and myself with the cloud painting I completed between classes... Karen had painted this same scene and her paining is to the left and behind her. This class was just what I needed to take a step up to the next level and to evaluate where I need extra attention... I think I need to read and practice perspective drawing... the simple stuff at least with vanishing points etc...
Anyway, Karen is much looser than I and that is why I gravitate toward her instruction. That and the fact that she is a super person! She's a character, kind of like myself... straight talker, not afraid of taking a risk because she is confident and knowledgeable. This confidence rubs off! I have only taken 4 half day classes so far and the first two were tough... I didn't really know enough to grasp what she was showing me. But this time I was ready for her and looked forward to the hours spent.
Painting clouds revolved around creating volume, roundness. This is done with shading and shadow... Emphasis is on using the side of the pastel rather than the point or end. I used the side of my finger a lot to blend certain portions of the clouds. We flipped the value colors both upward and downward to create a value change that is feathered. I did most of that within the cloud body and in transitions from one portion to another. The outside edge, especially against the blue sky, I left with a hard edge. When the temperature of the air is cold around a cloud, the defining edges are sharp... as a thunderhead rises into the upper atmosphere, the air temperature drops dramatically. I never used white, but many of the tints were close to it... I kept my colors warm on the earth and in the sky. This made a nice contrast with the cool blue.
I really paid a lot of attention to the discussion we had on values and put those practices to work. Finding colors of the same value and using them together will make a world of difference in your finished piece!
Posted by James Geddes. Posted In : art
In 2004-2005 school year I was asked to take the senior football player's portrait for Tahoma High School. I had been working with many of the parents from the Maple Valley and Covington area at the time and photographing sporting events. Thanks to Sherry Racy and Janice Bundy, Take Your Best Shot was becoming pretty well know in the area after I had created a sketch of their Pony Baseball all star players. Janice organized the senior portrait and sent my "athletic crew" out to pull off the j... 
Okay, I promised that I would let this cat out of the bag as soon as I could. I just received the signed copy of the sketch composite I created for Blake Griffin! I didn't take the photos, those were provided by Blake's trainer, D. Rich and the sketch was commissioned by Darby for Blake. 
I have so many things to be thankful for... I live in a beautiful place along the water of a beautiful little lake in the gorgeous state of Washington. The wildlife here is incredible, the summer evenings on the lake are postcard perfect. I enjoy my art, whether it is photography, painting or sketching. It's wonderful to have such a diverse selection of activities in my daily life.
I also enjoy the company of my soul mate and wife of 40 years, Nancy.... who is definitely the "better" half!
Pastels and painting have become a rich part of my life now. I love to paint and this gives me the opportunity for trips into the wonderful mountains, tide areas and farmlands that surround our home.