WEEKLY THEME: The Sky's the Limit

Beautiful Sky Sketch by Weijin Wu

The phrase "The sky is the limit" means there is nothing to prevent someone or something from being successful.  Often, the first thing an artist tackles in a painting is the sky.  After all, the sky and clouds are an important part of the scene.  A perfect model for sketchers, the sky pretty much stays still unless you catch the subtle movement of the clouds during unpredictable weather.  

Sketch by Janette Rozene

For this week's theme, "The Sky's the Limit," allow yourself to gaze up and appreciate the beautiful hues of the sky at dawn, sunrise, midday, dusk or sunset.  Maybe you can capture a rainbow, depict reflections of the sky in a puddle or on the water, or even draw the sky at night.  Remember how we learned about clouds in school? Nimbus, cumulus, etc., and how the different types of clouds predicted the weather?  Whether you paint realistically, or you lean more towards abstraction, go for it and have fun. Remember that the sky is the limit - all things are possible. If you are not drawing on location, please label any sketches you post to social media as NUS (non urban sketching).

Rainy Day Sketch by Lynwa Kreimann

NOTE: The idea for this weekly theme was inspired by a 'LOOKING UP. CLOUDS AND SKIES'

watercolour sketch workshop created by Erin Hill, our urban sketcher friend from Australia.

What colours are the clouds? What colour is the sky? Here’s a guide from Erin:

• Start with blue skies in watercolour pencil, then in watercolour.
• Next grey skies in watercolour
• Next a sunset skies in watercolour.

Some tips and additional inspiration:
How to Paint Skies in Any Medium by Artists Network Staff
https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/acrylic/how-to-paint-skies-in-any-medium/?
Learn how four artists paint skies in their respective mediums. Plus, a roundup of our best articles on painting the ever-changing skies above us.

Summer Sky Sketch by Sophie Cheung

What are clouds?

https://ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/what-are-clouds

Sketch by Joan Szalay Tavolott

5 Key Factors for Painting Skies and Clouds by Courtney Jordan, Artists Network

https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-techniques/5-key-factors-for-painting-skies-and-clouds/
Think of Turner’s skies or even Monet’s — they are multifaceted and carry the hum of several colors. The sky is rarely blue — or rarely just blue (except for a few lucky places in the world).

Nocturne Sketch by Thomas Kerr