Hermosa Beach Big Cloud, 2026 by Ray Patrick — original gouache painting — 2026.102.031

Subject

One large cumulus standing over the sea, with a flat horizon beneath it and a small dark point of land at the lower right.

Composition

The cloud sits centrally and takes most of the sheet, built as a single mass with a lit top and a shadowed underside. The sea is a narrow band at the bottom and the picture has no other incident at all.

Palette

White and pale grey on the cloud's crown against mauve and dove in its shadow, over a sky of cobalt and teal. The sea is lilac and slate; a thin olive strip marks the land.

Handling

The cloud's lit edge is laid in thick white strokes that keep their own shape, while the shadowed body is scrubbed more softly beneath. The surrounding sky is dabbed in flat patches of blue, teal and olive.

Medium and support

Gouache on paper. Matte and opaque, the whites sitting solid over the blue. Unpainted margins all round.

Signature

Lower left, raypatrick, in cobalt over the sea, letters touching.