{"id":8124,"date":"2025-10-26T12:30:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T19:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.donaldneff.com\/blog\/?p=8124"},"modified":"2025-10-26T12:30:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T19:30:06","slug":"a-brush-with-the-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.donaldneff.com\/blog\/a-brush-with-the-clouds\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brush with the Clouds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having spent my adolescent and twenties in East Texas, I am always enchanted by the beautiful skies and clouds when returning for a visit. There\u2019s something timeless and dramatic about those towering thunderheads massive, powerful clouds that roll in with a deep rumble, drench the earth in a quick burst of rain, and then move on as if nothing happened. On calmer days, great billowing cumulus clouds drift lazily across the sky, unhurried and magnificent, like giant ships sailing through an endless blue sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my younger days working outside in the the relentless Texas summer heat, the cloudbursts would bring a short refreshing cool break to the heat, but in an hour or two there would be no evidence of the downpour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at my current home in the Monterey Bay area, the skies are a little less dramatic. Being close to the Pacific, the skies are usually a non-event. The exception is just after a fall\/winter storm, when we get a glimpse of that same grandeur I remember from growing up in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a storm front come through the other day, and during our usual walk among the Marina Dunes, the big cumulus clouds were rolling by.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t resist snapping a few photos for later study.\u00a0 One photo in particular was good, so I submitted it to the local newspaper Monterey Weekly<\/a>.\u00a0 To my delight, the very next day it appeared in their daily eNewsletter as the \u201cPhoto of the Day.\u201d\u00a0 You can see it here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I just had to paint the scene.  Here are a few shots showing the painting as it came together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is the finished piece. I did take some artistic license, heightening the clouds for a bit more drama. As always, I may tweak it here and there in the future, but for now, I\u2019m calling it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marina Dunes Squall, 22×28, oil on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having spent my adolescent and twenties in East Texas, I am always enchanted by the beautiful skies and clouds when returning for a visit. There\u2019s something timeless and dramatic about those towering thunderheads massive, powerful clouds that roll in with a deep rumble, drench the earth in a quick burst of rain, and then move 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