This lesson is about how to paint realistic skies with watercolor.

Landscape painters need good skies. Skies are rarely the subject of a landscape, but it is definitely the curtain at the back of the stage; a critical element in the design.

Few people realize how important sky color is to their own emotional state. Gray days are just that. Sunny days have sharp shadows. These shadows are filled with light, but obviously not sunlight Landscape shadows are suffused with sky light, and sky light is blue. Often, when a painting makes feel good we are responding to crisp, blue shadows.

Clouds are incredibly important in a landscape, or seascape. They break up the sky space. They tell us about the weather. They can be hard or soft, dark or light, and come in an infinite variety of shapes and colors.

I use this lesson as an opportunity to introduce white paint into my lessons. White comes in very modern, titanium white, and very classic, white gouache, which is a watercolor made with chalk. This lesson covers how to use gouache. More importantly, it covers how not to use gouache.

We use our painted sky to create a complete wet in wet painting of a marsh. Then, when all is dry we cover up some blemishes with birds, and we learn how to make them appear close or distant.