‘Simple Cloudy Sky’: MJS Tv tutorial

Is blue acrylics or oil?

If oil - I have a tip that I learned from somebody online. You can wipe shape with towel so when you put cloud in it does not mix with the blue that much. I would assume your clouds have a touch of yellow ochre in them.
For shadows I would recommend muted purples rather than gray. However it may be camera issues that show them gray in the photo.

By the way shadows in clouds in terms of value are better when not darker than value of blue sky. Same with the highlights they better not be super close to white value.

I really like clouds at horizon and the way they follow perspective and your work with value in there!

But I would also assume that every rule has exception and this is why we are in the painting by following/bending/rejecting rules and creating wonderful art.

I looked at the clouds from big screen and it really looks different than from the phone. Highlights have a bit more peach tint in them which really makes them stand out and grays are not so gray but have purple shade in them.

Sunnylady, Thank you for your very welcome, pertinent and constructive comments on what has been a recurring blue issue in some of my paintings with a higher proportion of blue sky.. Indeed, photography, type and size of device & printing do change the colouring. As does stretching the vertical dimension of the painting (from the original) allowing me to increase the level of contrast in the blue sky areas. MJS's original was done on a 12 x 8 " board.

Acrylic underpainting in order:- I used Cr Blue mix at cloud base, aimed to give an indication of the final sky colouring, and clouds were a mix of white with touch of cad yellow and burnt umber to cover the white canvas area.

Oil level order:- Cloud base area is mix of Phalo Blue & French U/M blue (purple tinge), graduated mix (light up to top darker) of white with increasing mixes of Phalo Blue and then F U/M Blue to top, a thin coating of light blue in the cloud areas, midlevel blue colour used in the distant horizon clouds with white blended in at varying intensities, and then white overlay in the could areas to let the varying intensities of the blue show through to show the varying cloud faces and densities. Given the sun is in left back quadrant (probably about 4.30 on the clock) I should have added a touch of red to those surfaces.

I have also identified a couple of other issues: eg dark blue painters tape and addition of a warm colour desk lamp to improve lighting intensity as issues.

So your comments are very much appreciate and I am using them as part of my review before redoing this painting in the near future.

Any further comments are welcome.

Regarding studio light - try to find bulbs with 5500k temperature. It is mid day temp. White light. It is not easy to find usually for a decent price, but when you do you will see how different things are.

I had yellow 2700k lights first, then I got 4000k. Still was yellowish. In search of 5500 I failed, got instead 6500k. It is already blue light. But I had absolutely white ceiling and walls in my studio in Russia and it was tolerable. But paintings got warmer in general tone and I quite liked it.

Direct light bulb straight into your ceiling straight above your easel that it reflects down and creates less glare on the canvas.

Thanks for explaining your process. I will read once again from laptop to understand better.

I meant paintings got warmer in general tone when viewed at natural light rather than 6500K light.

Thank you for your good comments on specifications and use of lighting, especially about avoiding glare on the painting by reflecting the light off the ceiling.