Painting Clouds with Watercolor - wet on wet watercolor technique

 When I'm just getting started with watercolor, clouds are something I avoid painting because it’s quite difficult to get it right. That being said cloud is such a natural phenomenon that many of us can just look at it all day long. So I kept trying and I was able to get some decent results. Also, I’ve been taking the online workshop with Andy Evenson lately, which also gave me good tips on painting beautiful sky and clouds. So today, I want to share with you what I have learned, and hopefully, you can paint a beautiful sky with ease.

 Similar to painting water, using watercolor to paint some abstract shapes like clouds is very tricky. But, I want to share with you some tips I’ve learned from experience and from Andy’s workshop, to get your head out of the cloud and start painting them:

  1. Don’t try to control it - The more you try to control watercolor and copy what you see, the less fresh and natural it’ll look. It’s very easy wanting to copy every little nuance of the cloud because we have the perception that what makes it beautiful. And that might be true, but it doesn’t work so well for a loose watercolor painting. So before you even start painting, get yourself into a state of mind of relaxation and freedom. Your goal is to capture the overall experience, not photorealistic details. 

  2. Plan well, and work fast - The majority of the cloud painting is done in wet on wet stage. Which means you only have a limited time to paint. This is why you shouldn’t try to control it and copy everything that you see because you simply don’t have enough time. If you focus on painting all the details, you are going to slow down too much and the next you know, the paper is dry, and you miss out on the golden wet on wet time. So take your time to plan your approach. Think twice before you start painting. And once you start. Go fast and go bold. Too much hesitation will only slow you down.

  3. Learn to stop - Overwork is the biggest enemy of soft, clean looking clouds. This is much, much easier said than done. I can not tell you how many times I thought the painting looked good and wondering if I should add some more stuff to make it look even better. And more likely than not I ruin what was good about the painting. Overwork is generally not good for any watercolor painting, but this is especially true for watercolor. So when you just starting to like what you get, that’s usually a sign to warp up what you’re doing as soon as possible and let it be.

Cloud is a beautiful product of nature. So it’s important not to force it. Understand the property of watercolor, and let it do its work. You might not like exactly how it turns out, but learn to accept it. Sometimes the more you fight with watercolor, the worse your painting can look. So let it go and let it flow. Be sure to watch this week’s video to see the complete demo and painting process.