Stratospheric Soaring

"Stratospheric Soaring," 9 x 12" watercolor

"Flying High," was today's World Watercolor Month, daily challenge prompt. For me, the challenge was also thinking and painting abstractly.

As a child of the Great Plains, to me the  most fascinating, abstract high flyers (because all are unique, changing constantly) are our clouds, especially the cumulonimbus thunderheads that soar into the stratosphere. Layers upon layers of towering colors and shapes challenge the senses, and our sense of understanding.

It would see that watercolor would be excellent for painting these, since they are essentially all moisture. But they're so abstract in shapes, they're difficult to make  look "real," abstractly.

I was reassured by a painting teacher one time who viewed one of my early works and said, "Somewhere on earth there's a sky like that."

At any rate, here it is, abstract towering over our straight line, earthbound existence. 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold press paper.