A sky can make or break a landscape painting. In this invaluable guide, award-winning artist Sandra Orme teaches you how to create a broad range of skies in pastel, from sunsets and sunbeams, rain and storms, through to delicate dusks and dawns. Containing:

• All the essential materials and techniques areclearly explained

• A section on color theory focusses on those aspects key to painting skies: how to retain vibrancy; how to avoid muddy colors through the use of 'bridging' colors; and how many pastels to use for best effect.

• Build your skills gradually through 6 step-by-step demonstrations of particular skies worked from photographs, each looking at a particular sky effect, from the bright clouds on a fresh, blustery day to rich sunsets. Each main stage is shown both before and after blending for clarity.

• Sandra's 'sky clinic' offers more specialist and technical help on some of the common problems readers might encounter when painting skies in pastel. A "first-aid course" in how to identify and correct common problems.