Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Road trip series: Monsoon skies, oil, 6x6

Paintings from today and yesterday evening...

Cumulus Tower Over Black Mesa - #6
oil on wood panel - 6x6
© S.Johnson
A composite of two photos taken moments apart - one for the land and the other for the more dramatic cloud.  If there is one thing that never ceases to amaze me, it's how rapid the build-up of these summer monsoon clouds happens.  When a cumulus cloud is taller than it is wide, it is known as a "cumulus congestus".  Next stage:  cumulonimbus (raincloud).

This view is to the west, approaching Kayenta, around noon.

Cumulus to the South - #5
oil on wood panel - 6x6
© S.Johnson
These clouds are nowhere near those in the above painting; they are building up miles away to the south, probably over Second Mesa and the Hopi reservation.  The landscape itself is different as well; orange sandy dunes lead to a tilted slab of white Navajo sandstone, with more pink dunes and a wide, sweeping plateau.

7 comments:

  1. WOW!! Those are so beautiful Sonya! I love the shadows on those clouds. :) And the contrast of the blue in the sky with the orange ground is so awesome.

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  2. Love the contrast of the dark blue sky and colorful clouds. Beautiful paintings.

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  3. Aw, thanks Crystal! Clouds are so amazing, and I love painting them again. And, yay for compliments, right? They make paintings sing.

    Hi Sheri - thanks so much. I originally had the sky in the top painting a bit lighter, but once I darkened it up, it really improved the painting. I'm glad you like them!

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  4. Thanks, Jala - nice to hear from you again!

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  5. Wow! Serious clouds. Love the colors of these paintings!

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  6. Thanks, Debbie! They have been a blast to paint.

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Your thoughtful comments add value to this blog - thank you so much for taking the time to leave them!

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