Storm clouds are one of those subjects that look simple at first, but they can fall apart fast if the color or edges aren’t right. The goal isn’t perfection but rather getting something that feels believable and has structure.
This breakdown walks through exactly how to approach a storm cloud landscape in oil, from palette setup to final highlights.
Watch the Full Painting First
If you want the full, uncut version of this painting along with the reference photo, that’s available on Patreon.
Color Palette for Storm Clouds
Start with a simple palette that can handle both warm light and cool shadows:
- Titanium White
- Transparent Red Oxide
- Cad Yellow Light
- Cad Yellow Deep
- Cad Orange
- Magenta
- Phthalo Blue
- Cobalt Teal
For black, mix your own using:
- Phthalo Blue + Magenta + Transparent Red Oxide
This keeps your darks richer and more flexible than using tube black.
Brushes and Setup
I keep it simple:
- Filberts (around ¼" and ½") for most of the painting
- Dagger brush for final highlights
- A small amount of medium to loosen the paint early on
At the start, I’ll dip the brush lightly in thinner just to open up the bristles, but after that I keep things fairly dry.
Step 1: Block in the Composition
Start with a loose sketch using thin paint.
- Place your focal point off-center (upper right works well)
- Establish the big cloud shapes first
- Keep the foreground low and simple
- Don’t overthink details yet
At this stage, it’s just about placement and movement.
Step 2: Build Color Relationships (Not Details)
This is where most people go wrong as they lock into one area too early.
Instead:
- Bounce around the painting
- Test colors against each other
- Let the whole painting come together at once
If something feels off, adjust it in relation to everything else instead of trying to “fix” one spot.
Keep the paint thin here and focus on:
- Warm light in the clouds
- Cooler, darker tones as you move down the sky
Step 3: Control Your Blues (This Matters)
Blues are easy to mess up.
They’ll shift green, go muddy, or lose their intensity if your brush isn’t clean.
What helps:
- Clean your brush often
- Don’t rush transitions
- Mix small adjustments instead of big jumps
A lot of clean sky color just comes down to discipline with your brush.
Step 4: Start Building the Clouds
Once the base is working, start shaping the cloud forms.
Focus on:
- Layering (foreground vs distant clouds)
- Subtle value shifts
- Keeping some areas soft and others defined
Look for:
- Hard edges where light hits sharply
- Soft transitions in the glowing areas
Good clouds come from those edge variations more than anything else.
Step 5: Warm vs Cool Transitions
Warm colors are more forgiving.
You can move between:
- Yellow
- Orange
- Red
…without things breaking down.
Cool-to-warm transitions (especially blue into orange light) are where things get tricky.
Take your time there and keep your mixtures clean.
Step 6: Refine the Horizon and Foreground
- Subtle
- Slightly darker than the sky
- Just enough to separate space
Avoid sharp contrast here because it’ll pull attention away from the clouds.
Keep the foreground simple and slightly muted.
Step 7: Highlights (Where It Comes Alive)
This is where you can go thicker with paint.
- Use more white with a bit of warmth
- Apply with confidence
- Don’t overwork it
Switching to a dagger brush helps here.
It rolls paint on instead of pushing it around, which gives you:
- Cleaner highlights
- Better texture
- More separation from the layers underneath
Step 8: Final Adjustments
At the end, it’s just small corrections:
- Soften edges where needed
- Reinforce a few darker shadows
- Clean up shapes that don’t read right
Sometimes the best move is to stop looking at the reference and respond to what the painting is doing.
That’s usually where it starts to feel natural.
Key Takeaways
- Don’t paint clouds piece by piece, but build the whole painting together
- Clean brushes matter more than people think
- Edges are everything (hard vs soft)
- Warm colors are forgiving and cool transitions are not
- Highlights should be confident and thicker
And most importantly remember that clouds don’t need to be exact. If the structure and light make sense, it’ll work.
