Painting Daytime Skies

A Three-Hour Oil Painting Indoor Studio Workshop with Michael Magrin

Saturday, October 3 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Greenwood Village, Colorado The exact workshop address and additional details will be provided upon registration.
$225 per person

The sky is one of the most beautiful—and challenging—subjects in landscape painting.

In this focused three-hour workshop, landscape painter Michael Magrin will share his approach to painting convincing daytime skies in oil, with particular attention to color, value, atmosphere, edges, and the structure of clouds.

Rather than simply copying a photograph, we’ll look at how to understand what is happening within the sky: how color shifts from horizon to zenith, how light moves through and around clouds, how warm and cool relationships create atmosphere, and how simplification can make a painting feel more convincing.

What We'll Cover

Michael will begin the morning with a painting demonstration, talking through his decisions as he develops a daytime sky from start to finish.

Following the demonstration, participants will create their own painting using a color reference provided during the workshop. Michael will guide the group through the process step by step while also providing individual instruction.

Topics will include:

• Establishing the overall value structure of the sky

• Creating believable sky color and atmospheric transitions

• Understanding warm and cool relationships

• Simplifying complex cloud formations

• Creating volume without over-modeling

• Using hard, soft, and lost edges

• Mixing clean, controlled color

• Creating a sense of light and distance

• Knowing what to emphasize—and what to leave out

The goal is not simply to complete one painting, but to leave with a repeatable approach you can apply to future landscape and sky paintings

Materials

Please bring your normal oil painting setup, including brushes, palette, solvent or painting medium, paper towels, and easel or painting support. Color reference images will be provided for participants to work from but you are welcome to bring your own as well.

Painting Surface
One 9" × 12" canvas panel or similar size. Michael prefers a linen panel.

Recommended Colors

• Ultramarine Blue

• Cobalt Blue

• Gamblin Neutral Gray

• Cadmium Orange Deep

• Cadmium Red Medium

• Winsor & Newton Oxide of Chromium

• Titanium White

Participants are encouraged to bring the recommended palette so they can follow Michael's color-mixing approach during the demonstration and guided painting.

Who Is This Workshop For?

This workshop is designed for artists who already have some familiarity with oil painting and want to become more confident painting skies.

Whether you paint landscapes in the studio, work from photographs, or paint outdoors, the principles explored during the morning can be applied to a wide range of landscape subjects.

About Michael Magrin

Michael Magrin is a Colorado landscape painter whose work explores the expansive skies and atmosphere of the American West. His paintings are represented by galleries throughout the West and are held in private collections across the country.

His approach to the landscape is less about recording every detail and more about identifying the essential relationships of light, atmosphere, color, and form that allow a painting to communicate the experience of a place.

Reserve Your Place

Saturday, October 3 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Greenwood Village, Colorado
Space is limited to allow time for individual instruction.