Dusty Prairie Storm

 

Spring this year throughout most of the US has been plagued by severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flooding. Summer has now begun, bringing with it a terrible heat wave and early tropical storms. As bad as the severe weather is, storms can bring rain to drought-stricken regions, and they are beautiful when they are not dangerous. Here, we see some late afternoon thunderstorms billowing over the dry hills and grasslands typical of the plains and western US. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Cumulonimbus Sunset

This scene was inspired by a line of violent thunderstorms that swept through the area last weekend. While those storms happened in the late afternoon, this painting imagines them in the glow of the evening sun, cloud tops illuminated while shadows fall under the storm's anvil. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Storm-tossed Mountain

On a rocky, distant world, the low afternoon light streaks across jagged mountains and illuminates far-off storm clouds. Lightning flashes in the distance, a stark reminder of the primordial nature of this realm. Part of my MTG: basic lands series.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17" (framed)

Evening Lakeside Storms

Low evening sunlight stretches across a vast lake, catching the shores and tree tops in a warm glow. Miles away, storm clouds are illuminated in the waning light of day.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Grand Canyon Storm

This one was inspired by one of the photos in the monthly Landscape Challenge on the WetCanvas web forums. The original photo was of the Grand Canyon on a gloomy day, so I decided to zoom out a bit and add some drama with a storm explaining the gloomy appearance.

Acrylic Painting: 17" x 14"

Rainy Hillside Evening

Here we see evening come to a hilltop clearing somewhere in the mountains; the rain still beats down on the ridge of hills in the distance, and puddles cover the foreground. Night is swiftly coming to this quiet corner of the world, and more rain may be on the way - but, for now, enjoy the colors of sunset.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Sunlit Hillside and Storm Clouds

I've decided to paint something that is about as "opposite" as one can get from the unending blizzards and snow that have hammered the region this winter. This scene, taken from a reference image in this month's Landscape Challenge on the Wetcanvas forums, is of a bunch of small trees on a sunlit hillside moments before a late afternoon thunderstorm unleashes a torrent of rain over the lands. The cloudscape was inspired by one of Bierstadt's works, though his scene was of a similar storm over a small farm. Either way, I think most of us would welcome rain vs. snow and ice at this point!

Acrylic painting 14" x 17"

Storm over a Mountain Lake

Here's another summer scene - storm clouds pass between distant mountains while sunlight falls on old conifers by a large lake. The weather in the mountains can be violent and unpredictable, but also beautiful.

Painting mountains is still a challenge, as are exposed rocks. It may be a case of "paint what you know" in that there are no mountains or exposed cliff faces here in Maryland, so I only have photos to use as a reference. Still, I think this one turned out pretty well.

"Storm Over a Mountain Lake"

Acrylic painting 14" x 17"

After the summer rain...

Here's my latest landscape painting - it's a view across the far-away plains near a grove of trees. In the distance, storm clouds can be seen, and they've already passed overheard, leaving behind puddles in the marshy area beneath the hillside.

This painting had a few new experiments: the raised foreground hill and low horizon make the sky the key aspect of the painting. It also has a lot of "nothing" in it that goes all the way to the horizon; this can be challenging to paint since the regression must be done correctly (colors and details fade away, etc.) Also, this is the first time I've tried rain puddles - I think they turned out well. The key thing is to make sure the puddles (which can be treated like small lakes) are in a muddy-looking part of the ground. Otherwise, they look strange sitting in the middle of green grass.

"After the Summer Rain"

Acrylic painting, 14" x 17"