Clouds out the window

This was painted looking north out the window of Panera Bread last evening about 7:30 pm--big glass windows, great food and good friends (and no mosquitoes). Love that air conditioning also, but definitely not en plein air.


The mass of shadows beneath each of these cumulus clouds was rich with subtle colors. I used alizarin crimson and cadmium yellow pale to hint at these shades. The ephemeral nature of clouds makes it so much fun to paint them. Clouds are moving, changing, growing, shrinking and becoming something else every second. The light on clouds shifts with the sun's position and that of other clouds around them.


I understand John Constable's fascination with clouds and admire the cloud studies he made during the summer's of 1821 and 1822 in Hampstead, England. I enjoy them much more than his "six-footers," the massive paintings he submitted to the Royal Academy for annual exhibition. Those detailed scenes of life on the canal locks like The Hay Wain seem lifeless compared to the fresh cloud studies Constable created. That is probably my 21st century sensibilities speaking, however. I do think Constable enjoyed painting them partially because they were just for himself and for later reference in the six-footers he worked on during the fall and winter.