Artist and author Eric Sloane (1905–1985) is said to be the finest cloud painter of his generation—his largest cloud painting is a 75-foot-long by 58-foot-tall mural that graces an entire wall of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. In one of his (many) books he mentions building a “cloud catcher box” to better study and paint clouds: a box or frame with a glass bottom that is painted black. Unlike a mirror, this won’t blind you when you try to look into it to see the reflection.

I realized I could try that using my Perspex Palette backed with black paper. Before ordering the black paper, I tested it (left) by holding a black vinyl sheet under the palette and it worked perfectly!

So now, for anyone ordering a Perspex Palette or Minimalist Paint Kit I will include a Cloud Catcher (a 9x6 black sheet of Canson artist grade paper, use tiny office clips to hold to the palette) so you, too, can catch and sketch clouds.