How to Paint Beautiful Clouds (Without Overcomplicating It)

In my last post I shared the magic of an underpainting and why I believe it's a step that matters.

Now what comes next?

Painting the sky!

I know, painting clouds can be one of the most frustrating parts of a landscape.

They’re soft, constantly changing, and easy to overwork. And if the structure or values aren’t quite right, they can quickly start to feel flat or disconnected from the sky.

But with the right approach — and a bit of planning — they become much easier to handle.

In this video, I’ll walk you through a few of the things that make the biggest difference when painting clouds, from the brushes I use to how I approach building form and light.

Before you watch

As you watch, don’t just focus on the shapes of the clouds. Pay attention to a few key things:

• How the sky is established before the clouds go in

• How the contours develop the shapes and masses of clouds

• How modeling highlights and shadows give the clouds form

These are some of the details that help clouds feel dimensional and believable.

Watch: How to Paint Beautiful Clouds

If you’d like to watch this on YouTube or join the conversation, you can do that here.

After you watch

What makes clouds feel convincing isn’t just their shape — it’s how they relate to the sky around them.

When the values, edges, and transitions are working together, the clouds start to sit naturally in the painting instead of floating flatly in the background.

This is where a lot of paintings either come together — or fall apart.

How this fits into the bigger process

This step builds directly on the foundation we talked about in my last post.

Once your underpainting has established a strong sense of value and atmosphere, adding clouds becomes less about guessing and more about developing what’s already there.

Each stage of the painting supports the next — and when that process is clear, everything becomes less overwhelming.

So, if one of your goals is to paint more realistic landscapes, my free workshop is a great next step.

👉Register to watch Secrets to Painting Beautiful, Realistic Landscapes

When you understand the why behind the process, painting becomes a whole lot simpler – and a lot more enjoyable.

This is Part 2 of a 4-part series on painting more believable, luminous landscapes. In my next post, we’ll take a closer look at the next step in the process.

• Read Part 1: The Magic of an Underpainting