The Sky’s the Limit!

The Sky’s the Limit!

Sunset, San Fedele8×10″Oil on Paper© Kelly Medford, 2011
I just love painting skies, what landscape painter doesn’t? Don’t you have a favorite big sky painting by your favorite artist?

They’re fleeting, gorgeous and we just have to jump out of our cars sometimes, prepared to “jot” something down and hope to capture the awe-inspiring moment.

I always feel like they’re a test of how I’m progressing and what I’ve learned so far, a pop quiz if you will.

Sunset, Moonrise, San Fedele5×7″Oil on Paper© Kelly Medford, 2011

These two were painted while I was with a group in Tuscany. It was so much fun, and a few evenings we had dinner early (homemade local dishes, yum!) and then ran out to the terrace where we had already set up our easels to paint the sunset. This evening in particular we got a special treat: the moonrise. I had never painted the moonrise, what an added challenge to make it seem like a moon!

Thunderstorn, Dievole7×7″Oil on Paper© Kelly Medford, 2011

This final one was painted as a storm rolled by and dropped a few big drops on us while painting at a winery. At some point there was too much water on my palette to mix the sticky paint. Thunder rolling and crashing in the distance added to the excitement of the moment.

In the city I don’t often get the chance to paint the wide open sky, our sojurn to Tuscany gave me (and the others too I’m sure) a temporary fix.

Other artists out there: I would love to see some of your skies and hear some of your stories and lessons learned in sky painting. Leave me a comment or send me to see some of your work!