Don’t forget to look up! Clouds make for an interesting and active sky. They move and change, and follow the rules of aerial perspective, in reverse. Clouds that are closer to you appear at the top of the picture plane and appear larger. As they recede into the distance, they often appear smaller and flatter.
To get a handle on what you’re seeing, try a small thumbnail sketch. It reminded me of all I needed to know about this particular cloud formation.
Ireland is often blanketed with gorgeous, complex clouds. Róisín Curé took her time to fully explore the sky above these Galway fields in pencil and watercolor.
There’s no need to do a careful cloud portrait if time is short. I was working fast on this sketch, and a series of small, quick washes and marks suggest the clouds and the spaces between them.
Take a look at this close-up. By itself it may not read as clouds and sky, but in context it gets the idea of a high summer sky across.