This sky lesson has been designed with the beginner in mind. It’s quite a busy sky, with smooth transitions between the different colours. It takes a little practice to achieve the softness but it’s such an important skill to master for photorealistic artworks. This lesson will give you the confidence needed to tackle almost any sunny sky or area of a painting that needs to be soft in focus. It’s not as easy as it looks but at just under 1:30mins you can fit it in between paintings (or cups of tea)!

Happy painting,
Michael

Difficulty: Beginner
Panel Size: 8 x 13
Brushes used in this lesson: Michael James Smith Professional Brush Set

In August 2019 Michael switched brush manufacturers and as a result the series numbers/names are different in some of the lessons. In order to be able to complete the lessons regardless of which set you’re using we have put together a chart which lists the equivalent brushes from both sets.

Acrylic paints used in this lesson:
Titanium White
Dioxazine Purple
Cerulean Blue
Cadmium Yellow
Cobalt Blue
Burnt Umber

Oil paints used in this lesson:
Titanium White
Dioxazine Purple
Cerulean Blue
Cadmium Yellow Light
French Ultramarine
Burnt Umber

Thinner:
White Spirit