Large Format Painting, Cloud painting, Fried Mullet

I've been busy since yesterday working on a 30x40 painting. I only do a couple of them each year. Storage is very hard in my tiny studio and they take much longer to sell than my small format paintings. I find them to be a challenge for me. Frankly, they are never quite as good as my small paintings. I'm not sure why. People do like them and they do sell, but I feel less in control of them. I'm not sure why. It may be because I was an alla prima plein air painter for so many years. I felt that I needed to use huge brushes and fairly sloppy technique to do them. I have slowed down considerably over the last couple of years and I intend to take my time with this one. Let's see how much I have learned in the year since I have done a big painting.

Here it is so far:




A Mini Tutorial on Clouds

I've learned a lot about clouds in the last couple of years. I practice painting them a lot. One of the things I learned is that you have to simplify quite a bit to keep them from looking overdone and phony. I block out the basic shapes using various shades of off white and warm grays for the basic color. I fit the blues of the sky around the cloud shapes, leaving a third band of white on the tops. Then I make some corrections in shapes, sizes and so forth. After this dries a bit I go back in with flake white to put in highlights near the tops and frontally to give them volume. I often stick blue spots here and there in the clouds to air them out I like to use a bit of cad red light in the white mixes, or Naples Yellow light.


It's also important to understand the angle of the sun and from what direction it is shining on the clouds. Time of day influences how much land color is in the clouds. The later in the day the warmer the cloud color. On dark overcast days, they tend to be a cooler gray.Of course as they recede they tend to flatten out in bands or layers. Pay attention to the perspective. Here is an illustration of what I mean. Remember, the sky is not flat in front of you.



Don't forget that the sun bleaches out the sky near it, but as you look away from the sun, the sky become richer and more intense blue. The color temperature of the sky is cooler lower toward the horizon and warmer, richer blue as it goes up.

One more issue is that you will want to minimize cloud activity in an elaborate composition where there is a high horizon. Don't let your clouds compete with other dominant elements. Don't try to crowd in clouds if it will not be germaine to the composition. Flatten out the sky and make it minimal in a busy composition. A lot of what I have learned is just obervation out of location. I do quite a few litle thumbnail sketches of clouds. It is surprising how much land color is in clouds/sky and how much sky color is down in the land.


Today's Recipe:

You just can't beat fried Mullet. I grew up on it and I still love it with sliced tomatoes, hush puppies, cheese grits, and cole slaw. Fantastic!!!!

Fred Mullet

Wash cleaned fish, which should be butterflied or filleted. Salt and pepper generously. Roll in corn meal.

Fry in deep, hot peanut oil (350 degrees) for 3 to 5 minutes, turning if necessary or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Fish will be golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.

Fish Fry Pointers:
Use a large, deep pan to avoid crowding fish. Turn fish once when crisp and golden. For fillets, brown skin side last. After frying, drain fish immediately on paper towels to remove fat.