A wall of paintings

 One of my favorite Dutch galleries is De Twee Pauwen Gallery in The Hague, situated in the old centre of the city. I’ve been working with them since 2006 and since 2007 they hosted a number of my solo showings, the most recent in May this year. They specialize in large sizes, one of the few venues in the Netherlands that still do.

After having completed the collection for the May exhibition, I felt like something completely different. And now I got my own wall of tiny paintings…

When I feel like trying something new, I often fall back on smaller sizes. This time I wanted to experiment with a medium that was rather new to me, Liquin Light Gel, by Winsor and Newton. Great stuff, especially for glazing.  It took me some time to get used to it. I found it hard to handle at first. But after using it in some of my small panels I can’t say anything else but: great stuff.

Painting a cloud that looks like a real cloud

 Some time ago I stumbled across an old painting, done just after I graduated from Fine Art College. It was a beach scene, with a huge Cumulus. The cloud looked as if it was made out of concrete, challenging the law of gravity. I have vivid memories of how I struggled back then, trying to make a cloud look like a real cloud.


Now, more than thirty years later, I know that the edges are extremely important to create the soft and fuzzy appearance I was looking for. Almost every cloud has a soft edge, a transition between the blue sky and the cloud itself. I’ll work on that at an early stage, when

the blue of the sky is still wet.

 Later on in the painting process I’ll add details to the edges. They too are pretty important in order to make the cloud look real. Little bulges and dots that got separated from the big cloud, interrupt the shape and give it a sense of movement.


Using my fingers instead of a brush also helps tremendously. I don't have to buy new ones and they're available all the time.

Painting clouds, wood or canvas?

Three Beach Poles, oil on panel, 120 x 160 cm

As you can see in the video 'Painting Clouds by Layering' I paint on wood, 6 mil. MDF to be exact. I used to paint on canvas, but some ten years ago I switched to panel. I need a solid ground for the stippling technique that I use to make gradual transitions. This technique is a simple and effective way to get the gradual changes from one shade of blue into another you'll see in the sky. I buy the stippling brushes at the construction market.

Had some lovely comments on the video, and some questions too, like 'what can I learn from your video?". Here's a list:
- how to paint clouds by painting transparent layers on top of each other
- how to paint gradual transitions
- how to paint the edges of a cloud
- how to mix colored greys
- how to use transparent white
- how to use different types of brushes

More on some of these subjects in in my next post. In the meantime, you could watch  the trailer for the video or visit my website. Please let me know what you think!

How to paint Clouds

                                                       Beach With Cumulus Clouds
                                                                 75 in x 100 cm
                                                                   oil on panel 

How to paint clouds? Ever since I graduated from Fine Art College Minerva (The Netherlands) in 1973, I tried to find an answer to that question.On the one hand clouds are fluffy and light, but on the other hand they often have a very defined shape, especially the Cumulus clouds.  Over the years I developed an approach that consists of a mix of painting in layers and how you handle the edges of your clouds. In my video 'Painting Clouds By Layering' I demonstrate how I do it. I posted a trailer on YouTube to give you an impression of the video.

I'd really like to hear your response. Please feel free to post any questions or comments you might have!