The initial concept for this piece was a woman observing clouds that exhibited a pareidolia effect—such as faces and figures. However, I ultimately felt that cloud characters were a bit of a cliché, and I had already created several pareidolia-themed paintings. So I refined the idea, aiming instead to capture the feeling of awe inspired by magnificent scenery. Although I set aside the pareidolia angle, clouds remained a central element, with the goal of presenting them in a spectacular and evocative way.

The painting was designed using the Steelyard composition, which creates a visual counterbalance between the large mass of the woman and rock in the foreground, and the distant clouds. Additionally, because the downward hillside slope could lead the viewer’s eye off the canvas, I swept the clouds upward on the right side of the frame to redirect the flow back toward the woman.

The clouds were painted very softly using stipple brushes, with a consistent backlit effect maintained throughout. This soft treatment contrasts beautifully with the sharply rendered foreground elements, which feature strong highlights and shadows along with increased detail, enhancing the dimensional quality of the scene. I avoided modern fashion for the woman, aspiring for a more timeless appearance—not just for her, but for the painting as a whole.