Autumn Valley 24 x 30″ Oil George Van Hook
Creating a cloud scene with oil paints
Floating in the Blue
“How sweet to be a cloud floating in the blue.”
A. A. Milne
Autumn Cottonwoods 12 x 16″ Oil Howard Friedland
B ut which blue? Painting a beautiful blue sky can be a challenge. Changing atmospheric conditions, time of day, time of year—all can create nuanced, or sometimes dramatic, variations in the color of blue of the sky. For the landscape painter, learning the characteristics of available blue pigments is essential. We asked two master landscape artists, Howard Friedland and George Van Hook about what they reach for when they begin to block in a sky and to show us some examples in their oil paintings.
Teton Grandeur 24 x 36″ Oil Howard Friedland
“Skies can be any color and not just blue. That said, I have Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine and Cerulean Blue as staples on my palette. I think of Cobalt as the purest and coolest of the blues since Ultramarine has a blue-violet cast and Cerulean has a comparatively warmer (greener) feeling. The key is to remember that color is relative and will look a certain way when placed next to other colors. Even Viridian Green can look bluish in certain color combinations.
When I think about painting skies, I remember that whichever blue I use, on a clear sunny day it will influence the horizontal planes and the ground and much of the shadow color. Therefore, whichever blue I use, I’ll want it to harmonize with the rest of the painting.
The other thing I look for is gradation in the sky. How does the color transition from warmer to cooler? Notice how the sky above you, at the zenith, is a darker and purer blue. As the sky descends slowly toward the horizon, it gets lighter and gradually warmer. Also, depending on the time of day, it might graduate warmer to cooler from side to side. The key is to observe the differences. Here is a neat way to observe the color shift: using your finger, point at the sky moving it slowly from side to side or zenith to horizon. Now watch the sky change temperature as you move your finger.
On a clear sunny day, the sky could be a light Cobalt Blue at the top of your painting and as it descends down to the horizon you might see it warm up to a light Viridian Green hue and at the point where you lost sight of the sky, it might even have a red-violet tone like a bit of Alizarin Crimson blush.”
Lyrical Light 24 x 30″ Oil Howard Friedland
“There is no real formula to choosing which blue to use in your sky. Some paintings call for a warmer Cerulean sky; some for a cooler Cobalt one or some Ultramarine or combinations of all there or even other blues. It all depends on what other colors are in your painting.
I’ve had many paintings that I have repainted the sky several times changing the blue. You will know when the right one clicks. Just trust your instincts and keep trying until it WORKS!”
We encourage everyone to make color charts to refer to when painting. Colors can vary substantially according to brand, as shown in the Cerulean Blues (Richeson and Gamblin) shown below. In addition to the most used blues, it can be fun to try a few special colors. (Colors will vary by monitor screen as well. Be sure to try your own color charts.)
A Summer Cast 24 x 30″ Oil George Van Hook
Autumn Valley 24 x 30″ Oil George Van Hook
Above: Low pressure moving in from the south (left side); high pressure still to the north.
“I use Ultramarine and Cobalt as my primary blues. They are slightly different in color temperatures, which can be best understood by mixing them out with a white. If you do this side by side, you can compare the two chromas. And, of course, the Ultramarine is essentially transparent, while the Cobalt is opaque.
The important question when painting skies is what colors will you be mixing with the blues and how will you go about doing that? That is where the “Art” comes in. I never use just a pure blue (plus white) for a sky, because the colors and temperature are so dependent on time of day and surrounding colors. I almost always mix either a red or a yellow into my “blue” sky and this becomes compounded by the presence of a cloud cover. Here in the Northeast, we frequently have a variety of moisture-laden frontal systems moving through at the same time, so, to accurately describe a local sky, you may have to create several “color schemes” on the same canvas. For myself, this is the real joy in painting our skies, but it may appear daunting for the beginning artist.”
November Light 24 x 30″ Oil George Van Hook
Farm Lane in Winter 24 x 30″ Oil George Van Hook
Above: Moisture laden skies helping to create atmosphere and softening the forms throughout.
Many thanks to two of our favorite artists!
Painting a beautiful blue sky can be a challenge. Changing atmospheric conditions, time of day, time of year—all can create nuanced, or sometimes dramatic, variations in the color of blue of the sky. For the landscape painter, learning the characteristics of available blue pigments is essential. We asked two master landscape artists, Howard Friedland and George Van Hook about what they reach for when they begin to block in a sky and to show us some examples in their oil paintings.
Oil Painting in Venice
JAN VAN EYCK (1390-1441)
‘Portrait of a Man in a Turban’, 1433 (oil on panel)
E arly Renaissance artists were aware of the limitations of fresco and tempera painting techniques. The two main issues were that these media were quick drying making it difficult to blend tones and the vibrant pigments used to mix the medium lost their intensity of color in the process of applying the paint.
The solution to these problems came from the art of Northern Europe and, in particular, the great Flemish master, Jan van Eyck. Some artists had experimented with oil based varnishes to lift the vitality of their colors but with no great success. Paintings that were finished with these slow drying varnishes had to be left out the sun to dry, often cracking or blistering in the heat. In an attempt to develop a varnish that dried indoors, Van Eyck discovered that linseed and walnut oils dried faster than any others he tested. Furthermore, when he tried mixing them with his pigments, he saw that his colors were so vibrant that they no longer needed a final varnish. They were also waterproof when dry, with a smooth consistency that blended infinitely better than tempera or fresco.
Van Eyck developed an exceptional technique with oil paints to create superbly naturalistic images with brilliant glowing colors. His stunning detail, lifelike textures, subtle blends and dramatic contrasts of tone gained him an unrivalled reputation throughout Europe. This portrait is considered by many sources to be a self portrait of the artist.
Oil Painting in Venice
Antonello da Messina (c.1430-79)
‘St. Jerome in His Study’, 1474-75 (oil on panel)
A ntonello da Messina (1430-79), a Sicilian born artist was inspired by the outstanding qualities of Flemish art. There are various speculative explanations as to how Antonello acquired his knowledge of the Flemish painting technique, but his influence had a pivotal effect on the style of the great Venetian painter, Giovanni Bellini, whose paintings introduced the colorful and atmospheric characteristics we have come to associate with Venetian Renaissance art.
Giovanni Bellini
GIOVANNI BELLINI (1430-1516)
‘The Transfiguration of Christ’, 1480 (oil on panel)
G iovanni Bellini, the major artist in Venice at the time of Antonello’s arrival, was hugely impressed by the fluency of Flemish oil painting and adapted the technique for his own work. The advantages of oil paint over other techniques were its slow drying time and its translucency. Its slow drying time allowed artists to broaden their brushstrokes and blend transitions of tone and color to a smoothness that was previously unachievable. Its translucent qualities allowed them to focus on the tonal under-painting to establish a composition that was modelled in light, over which they would apply transparent glazes of color to create a radiant jewel-like finish.
We see all these qualities in Bellini’s painting of ‘The Transfiguration of Christ’, one of his first experiments with oil paint. This work depicts an extraordinary scene (Mark 9:2-13) where the human meets the divine: when Christ, together with Moses and Elijah, is glimpsed in his heavenly glory by the apostles, Peter, James and John. “He (Peter) did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
The visual metaphor that Bellini uses to capture the mystical aura of this event is that eerie sunlight you encounter when the air bristles with static electricity just before the arrival of a thunderstorm. The advancing storm clouds above Christ also symbolize his approaching passion and death on the cross. This charged atmosphere of dramatic light, glowing color and naturalistic textures does remarkable justice to this spellbinding scene.
GIOVANNI BELLINI (1430-1516)
‘Detail from Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan’, 1501 (oil on panel)
A lthough oil painting evolved in Northern Europe, it matured as a medium in Venice. We can see the range of its development if we compare two portraits of the Doges of Venice by Bellini and his pupil Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), who dominated Venetian painting for 60 years after his master’s death.
In the Bellini portrait, the aim is to create as naturalistic likeness as possible. The smooth surface of the Doge’s skin and the luxurious texture of his silk brocade jacket are stunningly rendered in meticulous detail. In painting the portrait, the artist constructs the work in three basic stages:
- Over a thinly painted drawing Bellini develops the depth of color in the skin, the unadorned areas of fabric and the background with translucent layers of color.
- Then he picks out the drawing of the decorative thread work and other small details in more opaque colors using very fine brushes.
- Finally, he builds up the tonal form of the figure with dark transparent glazes and opaque highlights to unify all the elements of the image.
Titian (c.1490-1576)
‘Detail from Portrait of Doge Marcantonio Trevisani’, 1553-54 (oil on canvas)
I n the Titian portrait, we have a broader painting technique that exploits the natural qualities of oil paint for expressive effect. Where Bellini disguises his brushstrokes for illusionistic impact, Titian embraces the tactile qualities of the medium and uses them as an element that reflects his personality as an artist. What his paintings lose in terms of detail, they gain in spontaneity. Titian’s breath-taking brushwork has a vitality and beauty of its own, irrespective of what it represents. In his painting of the Doge, we see the full potential of oil paint: a fluid and malleable medium that is applied both thinly and thickly to create a depth of color and variety of textures. Titian’s technique expanded the creative potential of oil painting and laid the foundations for a more expressive approach to art in the centuries ahead.
