Lightning Over West Wellow

27 May 2018

There were some cracking thunderstorms in late May and I thought I’d have a go at painting one.  I dug around on the BBC News website and found some photos that would make good paintings.  This one was based on a photo taken in West Wellow, which turns out to be somewhere down near Southampton.

I pencilled in the lightning, then went over it with masking fluid.  When I painted in the sky, I was careful to make it lightest around the lightning bolt.  Then I took off the masking fluid and painted in the trees and foreground.

I’m happy with the result.  The trees might not be the greatest I’ve ever come up with but they’re just supporting characters.  The lightning is the star.

This one has been sold to a private collector.