Contemplating clouds
With an unobscured view of the Wye valley before me, I get to see all the fascinating forms of passing clouds. I see them on bright sunny days and on ominous stormy days. I get to observe them in all seasons, at all times of day. They are mesmerising.
For me, clouds are a fitting subject to paint for their own sake and soft pastels are an excellent medium for painting them. They naturally tend to produce soft edges and they are so easy to blend and to build up big fluffy forms. As a subject though, clouds are very challenging. The most inspiring spectacle may only be in the sky for a fleeting minute or two, and sometimes only for a few seconds as a gap opens up to let the sun shine through. Even if I am lucky enough to have my camera handy, it cannot fully capture all that I can see. The range of light and shadow is too wide. The sky is too big. I try to make mental notes but the memory fades fast.
Nevertheless I try, and as I review my earlier attempts, I can see that I am making progress. The first thing is not to rely on mental notes. If I see a sky that inspires me and I have a camera to hand, I will take many pictures at different exposures to capture the forms. Then I will review those photographs immediately to see where they fall short. I write notes while everything is fresh, not just on the photographs, but on the feelings I had. Feelings of the sublime, or of my own insignificance, the trepidation before the advancing juggernauts, a glimpse into the heavens, the promise of a fine day, contentment at the closing of a fine day.
Just as a photograph cannot capture what can be seen by the human eye, the depositing of pigments on paper cannot replicate exactly what was seen. An artist has to compress the values and simplify, being steered by whatever stimulated their imagination. Which is easier said than done. So I practice. The more clouds I paint, the better I understand them. I take as many pictures as I can of them and, every now and then, I select one to paint purely as a study. I am always anticipating my next big sky picture.
BRIDGET'S FINE ART PASTELS 