Learning to Draw Clouds

I like drawing clouds because their shapes are simultaneously abstract and identifiable, universal and subjective, visceral and out of reach. I see clouds in the clouds before I see the faces and footprints of giants (they must be giants given the scale) and the profiles of animals on the hunt or looking straight ahead, waiting for the wind to move them slowly some place else.

The above image was initially a work in progress shot, but I like the blank space. I printed it as a 12″x18″ final draft, though I still plan to add layers of trees and buildings in front of the clouds. Here’s a process art gif + some animation.