can I make the sky feel silky?
SALTWATER SURF is a blue toned piece that started out in a different style. Early on, the clouds in the sky had a painterly, brush-stroke feel. I liked the blues, but I wanted to see if I could make it feel silky while keeping the blue. You know, the smooth, open blue like some clear afternoon skies look when you glance up from your beach chair.
I spent hours working on Saltwater Surf, tossing many iterations that just missed what I wanted. But here’s the technique that finally got me there.
I masked the bottom - sand and water - and ran some smoothing filters to the top, just the sky. That one single tweak made a big difference that I instantly loved. Next, I wanted to keep the blue but make it feel more relaxing, more subdued. So I used a muting technique, dialing down the highlights and lifting the shadows while keeping the blues.
See the final version here: SALTWATER SURF
Did I nail the silky summer sky feeling? I think so. What do you think?
