Cloudburst

I love rain, especially in the spring. I love the sound of the thunder, I love the sky-shattering flashes of lightning, and I love all the sights and sounds and smells of a rainy day.

Painting rain, however, is not especially easy, I’ve discovered, at least not for landscape artists. I think here’s an area where urban artists have an advantage. They can show all those awesome reflections, all those puddles in the streets, all the passers-by with their umbrellas.

What’s a landscape artist got to show? Clouds. Maybe a streak of lightning, although in the past when I’ve attempted that, my streaks have just looked a bit weird.

When I went searching this morning for a reference photo, I found lots of “lightning-struck” images. Not what I wanted. I searched a little more, never did find a reference that was really what I wanted — or what I thought I wanted — so I put together my own sort of composite, taking ideas from different photos, and I came up with this painting:

 

“Cloudburst” Oil on 8 x 10 canvas panel

I love painting skies, and I’m glad that I’m learning to create a bit more “drama”. I hope I’ve always conveyed the idea of rain falling from this dark cloud. I was pleased with the painting, and I’m looking forward to painting many more rainy days.