Step 1
“Desert Sky” 8 x 12 Watercolor by Roland Lee. A scene of the southern Utah desert with red cliffs and a dramatic sky. This is an example of a Roland Lee 3-minute watercolor sky.
Step 2
I usually wet the entire sky area first and then drop in Cad Red, Ultramarine blue, and Yellow Ochre, letting the pigments mingle naturally. After completing the sky I allow it to dry and paint in the distant mesa and a light wash over the foreground area, so I can evaluate my lights and darks.
Step 3
At this stage I bring the painting into sharper focus by putting additional darks in the shadow areas and adding the foreground elements. Finally I put in some strong directional shadows across the foreground. Now I decide the sky might need a little more attention.
Step 4
I feel that cloud shadows need to be darker so I decide to apply a second glaze. First I completely re-wet the sky area with a 1-inch flat brush and clear water. While wet, I touch a mixture of Ultra blue and Quin Coral on the underside of the clouds to darken them.
Step 5
In this closeup you can see how the addition of the darks on the underside of the clouds helps tie them to the mesa and helps the composition.
