Teach Yourself Visually Drawing

The Landscape chapter 13

In the study after the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens detail,
you can see that the artist, who had such an interest in move-
ment, was really trying to exploit the properties of linear per-
spective to rapidly move the viewer in a curving, undulating
fashion from the foreground to the background of his picture.

There is a clear sense of where the viewer is standing and
where the eye level and vanishing points are. Also take note
of how the various planes of the landscape, trees, and shapes
of the clouds all become smaller as they approach the horizon
line.

Study after Peter Paul Rubens’

A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning,

detail

Study after Claude Monet’s Sunday at Argenteuil,

by Dean Fisher

This study after Monet demonstrates how clouds converge
toward a vanishing point on the horizon line. Take note of
how dramatically the clouds decrease in size as they move
into the distance. This clearly demonstrates that a well-drawn
sky requires a sense of form.

It is especially important to keep these principles in mind
when working with clouds, as they are in constant flux; they
require a good amount of memory and theory to render well.
It’s also worth mentioning that to render clouds that are
three-dimensional, there has to be a light and shadow side to
them (and often some reflected light). As with any form that is
lit by a primary light source, if the shadow sides of the clouds
are left out, they will look flat.