Guidelines on How to Paint the Weather in Oils
Oil Painting Tips & Techniques on Painting the Elements
Aug 3, 2009
There are many different approaches, methods and oil painting techniques that can be used when depicting the weather, but one instinctively knows if it has worked or not. The two main approaches are:
- Painting from photographs
- Painting from life
Oil Painting From a Photo
Rendering a painting from photographs takes away the pressures of getting the paint down before the light has changed or of getting wet, cold or blown around. The artist may perfect at leisure the craft of:
- Drawing skills
- Judging colour mixes
- Setting the tones of the painting
- Exploring different techniques
The added bonus of using photos is that, so long as the vantage point and the lighting conditions are similar, a painting can be rendered from several photos. This can be useful when the sky in one photo is bland and can be replaced with another.
Oil Sketching from Life or Plein Air Oil Painting
The artist may wish to venture outdoors in order to capture the moods of the elements. This is known as painting plein air. This often requires a certain amount of confidence, but the rewards are huge. A little preparation is required first, such as
- A contraption that can be used like a pochade box to ferry wet paintings
- The art materials required for the jaunt
- Making preliminary sketches of the selected site beforehand
- Checking the weather forecast
Painting the changing mood of the skyline from a bedroom window or a snowy garden from the conservatory (if lucky) will reap the benefits of painting from life in comfort.
How to Paint Clouds
Portraying the weather consist of two elements:
- The sky
- The landscape
For an effective painting of weather, both elements need to be knitted together. Reflections of the sky can be seen in snow, water and cornfields. Again, the landscape is affected by what is going on in the sky, a dark cloud mass will give everything a greenish tinge; a windswept sky will freshen the hues of the landscape.
Further, the sky as well as the ground adheres to the rules of perspective. Objects, including clouds, trees and rivers, will appear to get smaller with distance and will eventually converge at a point in the horizon, known as the “vanishing point.” This can be seen in fig 2.
How to Paint Snow, Rain & Mist
Inclement weather provides great inspiration for the artist, but the following pointers might help overcome problems with painting such weather.
- Dispel presumptions such as “snow is white,” and “rain is grey.” Any colour can be found within. Violets, for example can be found in rain (fig 3) and crimsons in lightning (fig 4)
- Avoid using black when darkening colours in shadow. Instead use the complimentary colour to the object darkened. Shadows on grass, for example, can be darkened by adding red to green.
- Look closely for hues in mist, rather than opting for grey. This will add atmosphere to the depth suggested (fig 1).
- Clouds contain all sorts of colours, from pinks and crimsons to umbers and greys. The most outlandish colours can be found in sunrises and sunsets (fig 5).
Hints on Painting Atmosphere
Working from photos allows the artist to work at leisure, but working from life reaps great rewards. Making preliminary sketches and preparing the art materials beforehand in both cases will take the pressure off the painting. The sky and the land follow the same rules of perspective, but as for colours, any hue can be found in snow, mist and rain. Presumptions are best dispelled
Lastly, practice is the key. Various techniques such as using linseed oil to express monotones in mist and impasto to suggest a fresh day add dimension to any painting of weather.
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