Sunlight and Skies

Here are two of my new paintings which were both inspired by the weather and painted spontaneously. In the first painting, 'Autumn Cloudburst', I had been out sketching during the morning and had just returned home and was sitting in my garden. contemplating the evening when this happened in the sky. How could I resist? You can't paint this from life - the effect doesn't last long enough. Instead, I watched and took in as much detail of the scene as I could, then dashed into my studio and got to work! 

In the second painting, 'Dawn Breaking near Keith', I was returning home from dropping my wife off for an early start at work. I hadn't really noticed the sky on the way into Keith, as it was still quite dark. Only a few minutes later, though, the scene was captivating! Everywhere I looked along the horizon, the early morning sky was a different colour. I have had my eye on this scene for some time, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to paint it. Luckily, I keep my painting 'go bag' in the car, so out it came. I don't think I've enjoyed doing a painting more than this one. Painting spontaneously is great fun and, when all goes well, it adds real life, sparkle and freshness to the work. I like to think that happened in both paintings here!