Beautiful clouds! After years of self criticism I started painting again and am so glad I found your channel. Please keep repeating things, it is very helpful to someone learning new techniques.
Same for me. I have some hard time with skies. But this tuto is really the best I watched since I started painting 7 months ago. Perfectly explained, and beautiful achievement. Thank you so much from France🙏
This is excellent! I love how you explain every consideration, every detail, and how you repeat things over and over. You point out why many of the mistakes that I make happen. Very helpful.
Just begun to really try to learn watercolour painting. I like still life so i worked for a few weeks before deciding to join a class in my home town. The teacher rushed through basic techniques and then went straight into landscape. I could not follow quick enough so had to leave the class. Thank God i have found you.There is a saying, "When you are ready, the Teacher comes to you."
I agree that this is the most comprehensive and useful demonstration of realistic cloud painting for us watercolor novices, thank you. Compared to other demonstrations, this is most useful for achieving desired results.
THE best suggestion you made has helped me immensely for blending and softening of color: wash, blot and use the tip. Sounds so simple and it is. Bravo!
OMG I've always heard ppl say you're using too much water or less water on your brush but this makes more sense!!! the brush has to be dryer than the paper. It's relative. thankyou for the clarification ( after 5 yrs of trying)
After struggling with clouds for months this tutorial has yielded improved results. The initial visualization and building with soft grey is critical. Then the same larger brush, fully loaded, on DRY paper, with the 2nd smaller brush for softening is also so important. This softening takes practice as timing and visualization are important. Great tutorial!
I've only just started doing art at 32 years old, watercolour being my chosen form. This has so far been the most life changing tutorial. I adore this style and will spend some time trying to get this look.
Thank you for showing your method of being able to take your time and do one thing at a time and let it dry and do some more. I've found watercolor to be stressful in thinking I need to finish something in one go and this is so much less anxiety inducing..
Great video! I appreciate the time you spend explaining. First time I've heard "the brush must he drier than the paper"! Great tip...and amazing clouds.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. Even after a year when you first presented it, it’s still the best cloud tutorial on the internet. You truly are an exceptional instructor. Thank you thank you!
Another excellent video, thank you so much for these helpful reminders! I don't think you can say it enough about the brush needing to be drier than the paper and also stopping or spritzing once it starts to dry. You have helped me a lot! Thank you!
Thank you for making this video. I’ve no knowledge in painting but I found you explanation, tips and advice very practical and useful. That’s how others can learn from your experience and not just watching the end result of your painting. Thank you and keep up with your good work. 😅
Shelly this is fabulous. Thank you so much, this is the first tutorial that has made me truly understand how to show perspective with clouds. Thank you so much, you’re a star ⭐️ ❤
Although my cloudscapes look terrible, they ARE looking better. I switched to a brush that looked way too big, but I tried it anyway and what an improvement. Surprise surprise, just like Shelley said😂 I just stepped away, and when I came back and looked at my painting, I was surprised… It really looks much better than I thought. I’ll have to remember to do that.😊
Your mastery of watercolor is a thing of pure beauty to me, and you are an incredibly good teacher. In my days, I’ve been through many university classes and have spent years as a college art teacher from which I’m now retired. I’m seeing many things I wish I had known. Thank you so much for making these wonderful videos ❤ I’m working daily in watercolor and learning a great deal from you. ,
I've watched this video two or three times, and I still learn something new every time! It's way above my skill level, but I'm going to try it anyway. I bounce back and forth between trying to paint, studying pigment information and pallet organization, experimenting and practice exercises. "Don't have more water on your brush then you do on your paper"! Well, well, well. That solves a problem I've been having when I swatch my colors and play in my book. From the videos I've been watching I'm not the only one that needs to learn that! ❤ LOL. That's the perfect tip to put me back on track.
This was really helpful. Not only about painting the clouds in several layers but also the tip about the paper/brush water ratio. I will give this a try. Thanks for sharing this.
Once again, Shelley, just watching you paint gets me excited and eager to move forward with my painting. Clouds have been so challenging I felt blocked. Now I'm determined to get back in and just do it! Thank you.
Just a few days back I wanted to paint clouds and was postponing it. I happened to click on your video and I love the way you have demonstrated and explained. Thank you so much
Greetings from northwestern Vermont. Beautiful new snow overnight. About 8” here at home. Just came in from a snowshoe in the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere you spoke about. Now for some watercolor!
Thank you for your reminders on so many good tips, i.e. brush not wetter than paper, so I keep your voice in my head😊. Also, love your method on the clouds as I have always heard, "do your sky and do not go back to it" but when it lightens up, it is not what I want. Now I really want to try this. Thank you so much!
Hi from northern Ontario. We had a few days of snow last week, but I think it was too early to be silent, over the collective groans, lol. I know the first deep snowfall quiet that you mention, and I thank you for that reminder. It is special. I like this tutorial very much and subscribed.
Love your video! To paint in these kind of layers, as in shadows first then blue sky is fantastic, first time I've seen it done like this and I love it! Thank you 😊
Yes I've not seen it done in this order either. I think it might work better for me. And yes I must remember Shelley that my brush must be drier than what's on the paper!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have learned a couple of very good pieces of information on painting skies. I can tell that you really want others to learn and do well in their art.
A truly great lesson on clouds! I must have a thousand photos of clouds taken on trips in the passenger seat. All types and conditions. Looking forward to trying some of your techniques.
This is the most detailed, well explained lesson on painting sky in watercolor I have ever watch. And the most lovely painting also in tutorials so far :) :) So , I will be glued to your channel for a long time , since I have found it today ( sadly ... lost so much time struggling with lifting paint to make a cloud ... or racing against time with a large washes .. ) Thank you so much :)
Same opinion as your subscriber Barb ! I watched a lot of videos on the subject "clouds"... your video is the only one I will remember 🤩 A big THANK YOU to you for sharing your way of making these beautiful realistic clouds 🇫🇷😘
Excellent instruction. I am seeing larger clouds overhead followed by skinnier one further away out my window right now! First time I understand how to translate that to a painting! Also hadn't thought about using a non- gradulating color. Thank you for a valuable step by step!
Dear Fellow Artists, I struggled with two things: 1. After hours of practicing soft edges, I noticed the amount of water that I used at the beginning of my practice shapes (bad) to the last practice shapes (good)…so very little water was needed. Of course, Shelley had been teaching this throughout the video but until my bad outcomes allowed me to observe what I was actually doing, did I have my own definition/understanding of the word damp. 2. once I was able to control the soft edges I had a hard time deciding where to place the blue paint. I put the video on the slowest speed and put on the closed captioning/turned off the volume so I could watch in slow motion exactly what Shelley was doing. It didn’t help! Maybe it’s just me but I had a hard time seeing/defining the cloud edges. Because I lack the experience Shelley has I had to try something different. I watered down cobalt to a puddle that was just barely blue and I used negative painting to fill in my sky so that I was able to see the clouds. The paint was so water down that I think if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t see it. That’s how light it was. Anyway, from that point, I was able to follow the video bc I could see my cloud edges and the wisps. Like I said, maybe it was just me who couldn’t find the edges of the clouds, but in case I’m not the only one I thought I would share😁
I was taught to always paint the furthest away first. As in a cloud scattered sky first randomly wet the watercolour paper. Next paint the sky making the blue nearer to the horizon. Next randomly paint on white clouds with wither a fan or round brush letting the damp blue blend into the white then add more white away from the lower edges of the cloud. Next add light grey, or any other cloud colour as you wish into the middle and lower parts of the clouds. Then get a 1, or 1 1/2 inch dry brush and gently brush upwards away from the lower edges making the clouds more fluffy.
These are so beautiful and what I hope to achieve. I've been on a quest the last few days trying to paint fluffy cloudes and have been through watching tutorials where the individual uses multiple colors and my results look like mud. I think though, that you talk about technique more than the others, so I shall listen to you again and then try again. (Part of- my delima is that I paint what some would call illustrations, with figures and and animals and sometimes trees and mountains, but I want a sky like this in the background. Thank you so much I am going to check your youtube channel out since you are so impressive in this one!
Wow! So many excellent tips! I'm also very pleased to see a sky that looks like ours in the mountains of Colorado, instead of the gloomy overcast skies prevalent in other areas around the world. I'm very happy to have found your channel. Thank you so much!
I enjoy creating small backruns of the cloudier parts into the white just by using that technique with a small brush and a thirstier brush on the wet mixture it really looks legitimate and one doesn’t have to blur hard edges they become wispy all on there own.
Nicely done! Thank you! I started to confuse myself when you said you were painting the clouds. Finally figured it out and will try it within a day or two. So just to be sure, one keeps the brush really soaked and a lot wetter than the paper!!!!! Blessings. Jim
This is definitely the best cloud tutorial Ive seen...just...wow.
Beautiful clouds! After years of self criticism I started painting again and am so glad I found your channel. Please keep repeating things, it is very helpful to someone learning new techniques.
Have watched a lot of cloud videos and you are the 1st artist who has really shown how to soften the edges and make the clouds look real. Thank you!
I'm so glad it was helpful Barb. Thanks so much for watching.
Good work mam superb.
Same for me. I have some hard time with skies. But this tuto is really the best I watched since I started painting 7 months ago. Perfectly explained, and beautiful achievement. Thank you so much from France🙏
almost want to take notes for everything said when you are painting. Thank you so much. Waiting for your next tutorial.
Very good .intresting excellent .from morocco
This is excellent! I love how you explain every consideration, every detail, and how you repeat things over and over. You point out why many of the mistakes that I make happen. Very helpful.
Just begun to really try to learn watercolour painting. I like still life so i worked for a few weeks before deciding to join a class in my home town. The teacher rushed through basic techniques and then went straight into landscape. I could not follow quick enough so had to leave the class. Thank God i have found you.There is a saying, "When you are ready, the Teacher comes to you."
I agree that this is the most comprehensive and useful demonstration of realistic cloud painting for us watercolor novices, thank you. Compared to other demonstrations, this is most useful for achieving desired results.
The best ever cloud lesson. I have never started with just the clouds! Thank you.
THE best suggestion you made has helped me immensely for blending and softening of color: wash, blot and use the tip. Sounds so simple and it is. Bravo!
Probably the best tutorial on clouds I've ever seen. Beautiful and very well explained.
OMG I've always heard ppl say you're using too much water or less water on your brush but this makes more sense!!! the brush has to be dryer than the paper. It's relative. thankyou for the clarification ( after 5 yrs of trying)
Oh my gosh! Your clouds are fantastic, and you are a genius!
After struggling with clouds for months this tutorial has yielded improved results. The initial visualization and building with soft grey is critical. Then the same larger brush, fully loaded, on DRY paper, with the 2nd smaller brush for softening is also so important. This softening takes practice as timing and visualization are important. Great tutorial!
I agree the clouds technique is very realistic and beautiful. Most watercolor artists clouds don't have much in detail. This really works well.
Your tutorial on soft clouds is amazing! I've tried quite often to paint clouds...but you make it make so much sense! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Really appreciate you Shelly sharing your knowledge. Your very kind!
BEST tutorial for me by far. So low key, so simple, so Excellent. Thank you Shelley.
I've only just started doing art at 32 years old, watercolour being my chosen form. This has so far been the most life changing tutorial. I adore this style and will spend some time trying to get this look.
You are the best, Shelley. And so corajous. I truly admire your confidence and talent. God bless you.
Thank you for showing your method of being able to take your time and do one thing at a time and let it dry and do some more. I've found watercolor to be stressful in thinking I need to finish something in one go and this is so much less anxiety inducing..
I know exactly what you mean. Work on good paper and you can add colour in stages.
THANK YOU for your efforts and all the many fine points you made and we need!
Great video! I appreciate the time you spend explaining. First time I've heard "the brush must he drier than the paper"! Great tip...and amazing clouds.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. Even after a year when you first presented it, it’s still the best cloud tutorial on the internet. You truly are an exceptional instructor. Thank you thank you!
I've never seen anyone paint clouds this way before. It's fascinating to watch and the results are so realistic. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I was able to offer something new. Thanks for watching.
I was shocked at how real they look
Félicitations Madame pour votre pédagogie !
Another excellent video, thank you so much for these helpful reminders! I don't think you can say it enough about the brush needing to be drier than the paper and also stopping or spritzing once it starts to dry. You have helped me a lot! Thank you!
I like the idea of getting rid of paper towels and to be in control of what you are painting
I like your cloud painting technique. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for making this video. I’ve no knowledge in painting but I found you explanation, tips and advice very practical and useful. That’s how others can learn from your experience and not just watching the end result of your painting. Thank you and keep up with your good work. 😅
Shelly this is fabulous. Thank you so much, this is the first tutorial that has made me truly understand how to show perspective with clouds. Thank you so much, you’re a star ⭐️ ❤
I’m so glad that it was helpful. Thanks so much for watching 😊
@@shelleypriorfineart
💕💕💕
This is my first time watching a Shelley video. WOW! Those are beautiful clouds!
Although my cloudscapes look terrible, they ARE looking better. I switched to a brush that looked way too big, but I tried it anyway and what an improvement. Surprise surprise, just like Shelley said😂
I just stepped away, and when I came back and looked at my painting, I was surprised… It really looks much better than I thought. I’ll have to remember to do that.😊
Omg! This is brilliant! Such a unique way to paint the clouds in watercolours… thank you Shalley
Wonderful cloud demo….so appreciate the extra time you take to explain the ‘why’ of various techniques.
Thank you Sue. I'm glad that you enjoyed it :)
Your mastery of watercolor is a thing of pure beauty to me, and you are an incredibly good teacher. In my days, I’ve been through many university classes and have spent years as a college art teacher from which I’m now retired. I’m seeing many things I wish I had known. Thank you so much for making these wonderful videos ❤ I’m working daily in watercolor and learning a great deal from you. ,
I’m so glad that RUclips recommended your video! I’m excited to learn from you
The most logical and easiest cloud painting video. I've seen so far.
I'm going home to get out my abandoned watercolours.
Thank you so much. ❤❤
I've watched this video two or three times, and I still learn something new every time! It's way above my skill level, but I'm going to try it anyway. I bounce back and forth between trying to paint, studying pigment information and pallet organization, experimenting and practice exercises. "Don't have more water on your brush then you do on your paper"! Well, well, well. That solves a problem I've been having when I swatch my colors and play in my book. From the videos I've been watching I'm not the only one that needs to learn that! ❤ LOL. That's the perfect tip to put me back on track.
This was really helpful. Not only about painting the clouds in several layers but also the tip about the paper/brush water ratio. I will give this a try. Thanks for sharing this.
glued to my screen. Excellent tutorial. Watching from Tucson, AZ.
Once again, Shelley, just watching you paint gets me excited and eager to move forward with my painting. Clouds have been so challenging I felt blocked. Now I'm determined to get back in and just do it! Thank you.
What brand of brushes are you using
Thank you for the lesson, I repeated it and studied it, and something turned out to be quite good to draw)
By far the best water color cloud tut I've seen, and believe me I've watched them all. Thanks a lot.
I do agree , this is by far the best video I’ve watched on how to paint skies and fluffy clouds . Thank you for the advice and tips .
Just a few days back I wanted to paint clouds and was postponing it. I happened to click on your video and I love the way you have demonstrated and explained. Thank you so much
Omg!! Omg!! This is fantastic!!! Thank you very much for this precious tutorial! Youre amazing! 🌺👏🏻
I'm delighted that it was helpful. Thanks so much for watching :)
Thanks for finishing it with the trees & lake!
Greetings from northwestern Vermont. Beautiful new snow overnight. About 8” here at home. Just came in from a snowshoe in the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere you spoke about. Now for some watercolor!
Thanks so much for watching and welcome Nancy. Nothing like a fresh new snowfall
There isn't anything you can't do...beautifully!
Thank you!
That’s really sweet of you Gina. Thanks so much 😊
Thank you for your reminders on so many good tips, i.e. brush not wetter than paper, so I keep your voice in my head😊. Also, love your method on the clouds as I have always heard, "do your sky and do not go back to it" but when it lightens up, it is not what I want. Now I really want to try this. Thank you so much!
thank you ... never heard the brush drier than the paper comment before and makes so much sense.!!!
Many thanks for this video.
For years I have tried painting SKY.... your demo is perfect.
Thank you so much for the very best demo of cloud painting that I have ever found.
This was extremely helpful!!
First time watching clouds built this way.....a fantastic, relaxed method giving lots of control. Many many thanks for sharing! x
Thanks Janee. I do enjoy painting without the pressure of getting all of it down in one single pass.
You seem like such good person, as well artist. Thanks for this.
Great video.
Hi from northern Ontario. We had a few days of snow last week, but I think it was too early to be silent, over the collective groans, lol. I know the first deep snowfall quiet that you mention, and I thank you for that reminder. It is special. I like this tutorial very much and subscribed.
Love your video! To paint in these kind of layers, as in shadows first then blue sky is fantastic, first time I've seen it done like this and I love it! Thank you 😊
Yes I've not seen it done in this order either. I think it might work better for me. And yes I must remember Shelley that my brush must be drier than what's on the paper!
Watching this two months later , timeless instruction . Thank you Shelly 😊!
Replays definitely work too. Thanks for watching :)
Vraiment super bien expliqué ! Merci beaucoup, c’est très réussi ❤
Lovely to watch your video specially showing reference photo along with your painting process in one frame, which others don't do.
You give so much valuable information. And its never too much… yes i will hear your voice. The brush must be dryer than the paper. Love you…
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have learned a couple of very good pieces of information on painting skies. I can tell that you really want others to learn and do well in their art.
I am new to watercolor, and loved this video. I’ve struggled with clouds, and you gave a lot of good tips in this video. Thank you so much!
You are so immersed in the nature while painting and it turned out to be a fantastic landscape 👌👏👏👏. Excellent tutorial. Thank you very much.
You have many gifts as an artist and teacher. Bravo. I am glad I found your channel. Bravo from Oklahoma. Home of the crazy cool clouds. ☁️
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your demos Shelley!
Awww thanks so much. I’m so glad that you are demoting my demos
Thanks very much for watching. 😊
You are such a patient and very good teacher, thank you! I'm a beginner.
A truly great lesson on clouds! I must have a thousand photos of clouds taken on trips in the passenger seat. All types and conditions. Looking forward to trying some of your techniques.
Прекрасное небо, прекрасная вода, прекрасный пейзаж)))) благодарю
This is the most detailed, well explained lesson on painting sky in watercolor I have ever watch. And the most lovely painting also in tutorials so far :) :)
So , I will be glued to your channel for a long time , since I have found it today
( sadly ... lost so much time struggling with lifting paint to make a cloud ... or racing against time with a large washes .. )
Thank you so much :)
Excellent video. Thank you, especially for emphasizing brush to paper wetness so many times. Hopefully I will remember this! I keep forgetting it.
This is such a good demonstration. I have a large painting (12x20) to do and wasn't sure how I was going to manage clouds in a summer blue sky.
Same opinion as your subscriber Barb ! I watched a lot of videos on the subject "clouds"... your video is the only one I will remember 🤩 A big THANK YOU to you for sharing your way of making these beautiful realistic clouds 🇫🇷😘
Very helpful and love your patience and how well you explain everything. Thank you Shelley.
Thank you very much Norman
GREAT tutorial. Best regards from Spain
I am watching 8 months on, thank you, it makes so much sense to me now, can’t wait to have a go 👏
Totally enjoy your tutorials. I am just a beginner and enjoying it!
Excellent video, thx for posting
The best tutorial on clouds I've seen and I've looked at quite a few. Thank you!
Thanks very much Ross. I’m so glad it was helpful 😊
Must try your tip of “softening” of the clouds! Look really good. Thanks
Excellent instruction. I am seeing larger clouds overhead followed by skinnier one further away out my window right now! First time I understand how to translate that to a painting! Also hadn't thought about using a non- gradulating color. Thank you for a valuable step by step!
I'm so glad it's helping you 'see' the perspective in the sky Debbie. Thanks so much for watching.
Wow! I just discovered you. What a wonderful new way to paint realistic clouds. Thank you for a great lesson.
Dear Fellow Artists,
I struggled with two things:
1. After hours of practicing soft edges, I noticed the amount of water that I used at the beginning of my practice shapes (bad) to the last practice shapes (good)…so very little water was needed. Of course, Shelley had been teaching this throughout the video but until my bad outcomes allowed me to observe what I was actually doing, did I have my own definition/understanding of the word damp.
2. once I was able to control the soft edges I had a hard time deciding where to place the blue paint. I put the video on the slowest speed and put on the closed captioning/turned off the volume so I could watch in slow motion exactly what Shelley was doing. It didn’t help! Maybe it’s just me but I had a hard time seeing/defining the cloud edges. Because I lack the experience Shelley has I had to try something different. I watered down cobalt to a puddle that was just barely blue and I used negative painting to fill in my sky so that I was able to see the clouds. The paint was so water down that I think if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t see it. That’s how light it was. Anyway, from that point, I was able to follow the video bc I could see my cloud edges and the wisps.
Like I said, maybe it was just me who couldn’t find the edges of the clouds, but in case I’m not the only one I thought I would share😁
Really excellent demonstration in details. Explain so beautifully. Thyso much mam.
Thanks very much for watching. 😊
I struggle with clouds!! Your demonstration is so helpful!! Thank you!
Thanks Nancy. I’m so glad that you found it useful. Thanks for watching.
This is a wonderful video! I had never heard to keep your brush drier than the paper.
All I can say is….amazing. Will be trying this!❤
I loved this! I cannot wait to try this here at home.
I watched the replay and it’s very helpful to hear the tips repeated over and over. Someday, I’ll remember. 😉
Lol thanks Sue. It’s hard to remember everything all at once 😊
I really loved your painting and how you explain how to work or correct.
Sandra from Uruguay South America
So beautiful, and you always explain techniques so well! Thank you 😊
I was taught to always paint the furthest away first. As in a cloud scattered sky first randomly wet the watercolour paper. Next paint the sky making the blue nearer to the horizon. Next randomly paint on white clouds with wither a fan or round brush letting the damp blue blend into the white then add more white away from the lower edges of the cloud. Next add light grey, or any other cloud colour as you wish into the middle and lower parts of the clouds. Then get a 1, or 1 1/2 inch dry brush and gently brush upwards away from the lower edges making the clouds more fluffy.
Whichever method gives you the best result is the best approach 😊
Best sky/cloud video ever! You have been so helpful.
These are so beautiful and what I hope to achieve. I've been on a quest the last few days trying to paint fluffy cloudes and have been through watching tutorials where the individual uses multiple colors and my results look like mud. I think though, that you talk about technique more than the others, so I shall listen to you again and then try again. (Part of- my delima is that I paint what some would call illustrations, with figures and and animals and sometimes trees and mountains, but I want a sky like this in the background. Thank you so much I am going to check your youtube channel out since you are so impressive in this one!
Incredible! Favorite cloud video I’ve found. Thanks for sharing your technique 🤗
Wow! My wife just bought me a water colour kit for our anniversary ! Very interested in your instructions.
Wow! So many excellent tips! I'm also very pleased to see a sky that looks like ours in the mountains of Colorado, instead of the gloomy overcast skies prevalent in other areas around the world. I'm very happy to have found your channel. Thank you so much!
Welcome Penny and thanks so much for watching. I'm glad that you enjoyed this.
Wonderful tutorial! Thank you
I enjoy creating small backruns of the cloudier parts into the white just by using that technique with a small brush and a thirstier brush on the wet mixture it really looks legitimate and one doesn’t have to blur hard edges they become wispy all on there own.
Your clouds are beautiful and I never thought to paint clouds this way!
Thank you so much Andrew. I'm sure there are many ways but this one works best for me. Happy painting!
Nicely done! Thank you! I started to confuse myself when you said you were painting the clouds. Finally figured it out and will try it within a day or two. So just to be sure, one keeps the brush really soaked and a lot wetter than the paper!!!!! Blessings. Jim
For control, the brush should be dryer than the wet paper. On dry paper the brush should of course be quite wet.