Dive Into Water Lilies And Find Your Creative Flow

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Water lilies have captivated artists since Monet transformed them into impressionist icons. I’ve had the joy of painting water lilies in many places from France to Ohio, and New England where I live. These floating beauties offer such rich learning opportunities for artists at every level, from dealing with ellipses to capturing surface reflections and exploring what lies beneath the water.

Here are a few ideas to spark your own creative flow.

Alain Picard, Les Jardins D’Eau, 6x12” plein air pastel on UART

Start with Abstract Shapes

Before diving into color, begin with thumbnail sketches to discover the abstract patterns hiding in the garden. Focus on value shapes—see lily pads as interlocking puzzle pieces of light and dark rather than detailed flowers. This approach calms those creative jitters and builds confidence. Pay special attention to the elliptical lily pad shapes; mastering their perspective is key to creating believable water scenes.

Break Free from Predictable Greens

Here's where water lilies get exciting. Instead of getting stuck in monotonous greens, ask yourself, "what if?" What if you interpret the scene in violets and pinks? What if deep blues dominated the water? 

I've discovered that using complementary colors—especially red-violets and pinks—can transform a potentially monotonous green scene into something vibrant and personal. Don't be afraid to push beyond reality in your initial studies. There's always time to dial back later!

Alain Picard, Water Lily Study 8x6”

Find Your Own Monet Moment

I encourage you to explore water lilies through Monet's eyes. Visit Wikiart.org or Google Arts & Culture to study his water lily series. Notice how abstract his approach was. Monet wasn't copying nature but interpreting it through color, texture, and emotion.

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1919 oil on canvas

Whether you lean toward realistic or abstract, let curiosity guide your exploration. Water lilies have inspired collectors for over a century. Your unique vision could be next. Remember, every artistic journey begins with a willingness to take risks. So grab your sketchbook and let those lily pads lead you into fresh creative waters!

Alain Picard, Pink Water Lilies, 12x12” Pastel on UART 400 Board

Want to dive into some fresh inspiration and guidance for your landscape paintings? Save the date for Landscape Week kicking off on September 8th. Whether you're painting lily ponds or sunset views, this is your chance to breakthrough with confidence and joy!

3 Ways to Paint More Dramatic Cloudscapes

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Have you ever stood beneath a beautiful open sky, watching the clouds dance across the horizon, and wished you could capture that magic in pastel? You're not alone. Cloudscapes have captivated artists for centuries—from Turner's luminous skies to Constable's billowing cumulus formations.

The good news? Creating compelling cloudscapes is more accessible than you might think. Here are three simple ways to elevate your cloud paintings from ordinary to extraordinary:

After the Rain, 6x12” pastel

1.     Lower Your Horizon Line 

One of the quickest ways to create drama in your cloudscapes is to place your horizon in the bottom third of your picture plane—or even lower. This simple compositional choice gives clouds the starring role they deserve. Instead of competing with landscape elements, your sky becomes the main event. Think of it as giving your clouds a bigger stage to perform on. The vast expanse invites viewers to look up and lose themselves in your atmospheric creation.

Beautiful Horizons, 9x12” pastel

2.     Explore Color Beyond White 

Here's a secret: clouds are never just white. They're complex mirrors reflecting the world around them. I love those peachy pinks at dawn, the blue-violets in the shadows, golden amber at sunset. Start observing how the time of day transforms cloud colors. Try this: paint the same cloud formation at different times using limited color palettes. Morning might call for warm yellows and cool purples, while storm clouds demand dramatic grays with silvery highlights. This practice will transform your clouds from flat white shapes into living, breathing atmosphere.

Clouds Over Sweden, 9x12” pastel

3.     Master the Art of Edges 

Hard, cut-out cloud shapes lack finesse and depth. Real clouds are vaporous and ephemeral, merging and flowing into the sky around them. Practice varying your edges: keep them soft where clouds dissipate into atmosphere, firmer where sunlight creates definition against deep-colored sky. Think of painting clouds like capturing smoke or mist. Let your pastels dance between definition and suggestion, creating that magical texture and soft quality that makes viewers feel they can reach up and touch the moisture in the air.

 

Your Creative Challenge 

This week, grab a small paper and a handful of pastels, and try just one of these techniques. Aim for exploration, not perfection. Paint a simple cloudscape with a low horizon or focus entirely on capturing the colors of clouds at your favorite time of day. Remember, mastering cloudscapes starts with a single stroke on paper as you reach toward the sky.

Please share your cloudscape with me on Facebook or Instagram using #LearnwithAlainPicard. I look forward to seeing what you have created!

The largest pastel painting I’ve ever created

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“Lake Burton Majesty” is the largest pastel painting I’ve ever created. 
In celebration of this moment, I’d love to share some of the creative process with you.

Lake Burton Majesty, 74x56" pastel on board

From Vision to Reality

The commission began with dear friends Joel and LeAnn Nickelsen, who purchased a Lake Burton home in 2022. What started as a conversation about a 3x5-foot painting evolved into an extraordinary challenge—a massive 56" x 74" landscape to hang in their two-story foyer.

Their vision was deeply meaningful: capture Lake Burton's awe-inspiring beauty—the shimmering waters, majestic mountains, and glowing sunset—as a tribute to God's creation.

Design Sketch of Lake Burton

The Research Phase

Rather than work solely from photographs, I knew I needed to experience Lake Burton firsthand. In August 2023, I spent a beautiful weekend with the Nickelsens on the lake—kayaking, boating, photographing, and stargazing from the dock. This immersion was critical to understanding the light, scale, and essence of the place. The view of the mountains surrounding the lake is a breathtaking sight. 

Back in my studio, I created multiple sketches and color studies, collaborating closely with the Nickelsens on key elements like the layered mountain ridges that would bring depth and majesty to the composition.

Early Color Study, 11x14” pastel

Technical Challenges of Scale

Creating a pastel painting of this size brought many unique challenges:

Materials: I was able to source a giant Ultra Board locally and mounted UART 400 sanded pastel paper onto it. The 56” width of a UART sanded paper roll became the maximum width for the painting.

Transportation: I rented a moving van to transport oversized materials to my studio, and then to the framer once completed.

Support: I didn’t have an easel that could handle this size, so I mounted the piece directly to my studio wall.

Process: Building up the painting layer by layer— from charcoal sketching, to pastel application, alcohol washes, pastel primers, further layers and workable fixatives to secure the pigments along the way. 

Each layer of soft pastel helped bring further depth and dimension to the work. I worked for two months, carefully building up the vibrant landscape, letting Lake Burton's majesty slowly emerge from the surface.

Sanded board mounted to my studio wall with sketches and studies surrounding the work.

Collaboration and Completion

Throughout the process, the Nickelsens and I maintained close communication, refining details and ensuring the final piece would capture their vision. By spring 2024, the composition was locked in. Two months of intensive work later, in July 2024, "Lake Burton Majesty" was completed.

The painting was professionally framed with Optium Museum Acrylic glazing due to the size of the work. It was shipped via art courier from Connecticut to Georgia—bringing this year-long creative collaboration to fruition as it now hangs in it’s forever home.

Final framed painting in the Nickelsen’s Lake House

Creating this painting of Lake Burton Majesty was an epic journey taking well over a year from start to completion. The final result is a moving description of the majestic beauty of Lake Burton’s layered mountain ridges and coastal pines, and a celebration of the heavens above as they shimmer over the waters, reminding us of the breathtaking beauty of Creation.

I did not know how to create a pastel painting of this size and scale at the start of the project. Yet step by step with curiosity, humility and openness to new solutions, I was able to uncover the path that would bring it to life.

Be encouraged that you can accomplish greater things than you ever thought possible if you are willing to take the leap and trust the process. 

I’d love to help you get there.

Keep painting! 

Alain 

Looking for support with your pastel paintings? Be sure to check HERE for updates on mini-courses and to join the waitlist for The Painterly Landscape Course coming this fall!

Pastel Clouds Made Easy

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Alain Picard, Clouds, 9x12” pastel

 

Ready to master the art of painting billowing clouds in pastel? Dive into this video lesson, where you’ll learn techniques to bring your clouds to life with depth, texture, and color.

You’ll explore themes like:

  • Building Depth: Layering colors and sculpting masses with positive and negative shapes.

  • Edge Control: Balancing hard, soft, and lost edges for vaporous effects.

  • Color Harmony: Connecting colors between water and sky, using neutrals and chromatics.

  • Light & Shadow: Creating atmospheric transitions, adding warmth, and reflecting sky in water.

  • Mark-Making and Blending Techniques: Softening edges for vertical reflections and adding impasto effects.

This video lesson has been newly edited and re-released so you can create your own stunning clouds that sparkle with life and color. It's packed with techniques and insights to elevate your pastel landscapes! 🏆