Painting Boats and Harbors by Harry R. Ballinger

Author:Harry R. Ballinger
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780486137483
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2012-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 46 CLOUD SHADOWS

Before starting to paint a sky I carefully study the design of the clouds and try to pick a pattern that will go with the rest of the picture — one that will carry the lines of interest in the lower areas of the picture right up through the sky.

Although clouds give the appearance of standing still, they are actually always in motion, so it is necessary, if you like a certain effect, to draw them as rapidly as possible before they change. When you have a cloud pattern that you like, stick to it and don’t keep trying to find something better, because you may not find it and you will only waste valuable time that could be spent working on the rest of the picture.

When drawing clouds, try to see them in simple masses of light and shade. I try to keep quite a little warmth in the shadows of the overhead clouds. Those farther away and nearer the horizon should be grayer and cooler, since as we have seen, distance grays and cools all colors. A bright orange dory, for instance, is a much more brilliant color when it is nearby than when it is halfway across the harbor.

Don’t forget, while painting the sky, to watch its effect on the rest of the picture. You can see what happens when clouds cast shadows over parts of the scene, then you can make up your mind where you want your brilliant lights and what portions of your picture should be in shadow (Fig. 45). Of course, the sky color reflects down over the whole picture.

We have all watched the rapid change that takes place in a harbor when a blue sky becomes overcast. The blue in the water of the harbor completely vanishes and is replaced by a leaden expanse that has picked up the color of the sky. I think the toughest thing about outdoor painting is to capture some such effect before it changes completely.

I remember starting a fascinating fog scene one morning at Gloucester, on Cape Ann. A fisherman was loading gear in a lobster boat tied up to a float with a little of the wharf seen in the distance. It looked mysterious and picturesque with a soft diffused down light on it, but by the time I had drawn it in, the fog had disappeared and I was left with a most unpleasant background, complete with gas tanks and brand new shiny-looking warehouses. The mystery was gone. There remained only a flat sunlight effect that came from behind me, obliterating all shadows. While I was deciding what to do, the lobsterman started up his motor and happily chugged away for some distant point outside the harbor leaving behind a discouraged artist who felt like giving up the whole thing and turning to flower painting!

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