how to paint mist/fog & clouds wet on wet

JessicaArt

So, in the past I would paint the landscape without the fog and then go in and drybrush over the dried layer with a fog color... wondering if anyone has any tips on attempting foggy mist like areas wet on wet.... here is a detail of what Im dealing with... what did I get myself into? lol  
The second image is my second question... ive basically got this starting gate over the whole image. I know mark says to paint darks first, but its my inclination to paint the sky first, then go over with the starting gate. Agreed? and would you paint the whole sky and then paint clouds over top, or work them in as you go along? Oye. It will be a miracle if this thing comes out. Not to mention I am painting it on a 48x36 canvas!! ahk! 

PaulB

Mist:  It’s just color, blending and soft edges.  Nothing special.

Gate:   I would do the sky first.  I would probably draw that gate first with a ruler and let the pencil lines show through the sky as a guide.  You may require a couple of coats to kill the lightness of the sky afterwards, in the dark areas of the gate.

The dark first recommendation is a good idea, but it’s also for beginners who may not appreciate yet the value of nice darks being unspoiled with lighter paint.  You graduated from DMP several paintings ago, no training wheels for you.

JessicaArt

That makes sense @PaulB I am at the "blank canvas crippling fear" stage. LOL I've just gotta throw some color down and get to it. I already drew everything out using white... do you think I should go over the starting gate with graphite? That will show through? 
Thanks for the tips! 

JessicaArt

I think (since Im lazy and don't want to do the graphite thingy after the fact) Im going to use the sections of the starting gate as a kind of grid and treat it as mini paintings throughout the big picture. There is an artist on here...I think he or she is Australian and he does these crazy detailed paintings looking up through the branches of trees... I asked him how he keeps track and he said he just goes bit by bit. I think I will take a crack at his playbook in terms of al of these sections. We'll see! Definitely feels less stressfull breaking it down like that in my mind. Fingers crossed! 

dencal

JessicaArt

Yep! Whole sky first. I would use a non-SDM mix for that and add some Liquin. Layers if you wish. Followed in a day or two by thin mix dark tones for the gates.

Great looking image.

Denis

JessicaArt

Thanks @dencal yeah, Im thankful to have hooked up with a fantastic photographer, Jay Moran, for this painting. He's amazing. 

BOB73

@JessicaArt   How do you eat an elephant?   ...one bite at a time. Painting a section at a time is a good way to start on a big canvas. I never had much luck painting a mist or fog over a landscape dry brush style. One of the reasons I came to DMP. @PaulB is right it's just colors and knowing where to blend. With the sun where it is you might have to go darker in most of your values to make it shine like that.

JessicaArt

I can't thank you guys enough for your advice! Learning to paint that fog and trusting the method/ just painting what I saw and not what I THINK I saw was hard but I think it's working out! 

dencal

JessicaArt

Stumbled on this easy fog video. 

https://youtu.be/nckijlqM6Ns

Denis

Summer

@JessicaArt Creating fog.  Adding white dulls colors but this is the one time that using white is a good thing.  The fan and mop brushes are good at the beginning to create fog but artists use many other types of brushes to finish the job.  And, I'm sure you will be experimenting with those others.  This is also a time when we use the word chroma a lot.  It also means intensity.  There will be quite a difference in chroma between the fog and the rest of your painting.  I'm sure by this time you know these things but I thought I'd mention them anyway.  The video submitted above is another godsend.  I'm going to save it for future viewing as well.  Good luck to you.  Summer

JessicaArt

@Summer & @dencal yeah, that video is the way I used to paint fog via a glazing/layers method. I was looking at how to do it wet on wet, so I didn't have to wait for layers to dry. It really was just a matter of painting the colors I saw and then blending with a small mop brush and fan brushes etc. I think it will work out in the end, but its hard to tell without the foreground in yet! haha Hopefully I'll have a better grasp on how things are working out by the end of next week, 
Thanks guys! 

Summer

@JessicaArt You can always scumble a bit with alla prima, but then again maybe not.  If  you do, scumble very lightly with a very dry brush over your wet paint.  Wipe brush after each pass. 

Scumbling is a technique. It is a motion that is light and irregular. Paint has to be thin, which Mark's is. Drag one color over another so the color underneath shows through in places.  All this before creating the fog with the other brushes.  Summer