Sky above clouds III - Georgia O'Keeffe

A 1963 oil painting by Georgia O'Keeffe, depicting a rhythmic, aerial view of clouds arranged in a repeating pattern across a blue sky.

Sky above clouds III is a large-scale oil painting by Georgia O'Keeffe, created in 1963. The work emerged from the artist's frequent travels by aeroplane, during which she observed the cloud formations from above. O'Keeffe translated these aerial views into a rhythmic, repetitive composition that occupies the entire canvas. The painting features a series of oval-shaped white clouds arranged in a grid-like formation. These shapes diminish in size as they recede toward the horizon, creating a sense of vast space. The blue of the sky appears between the clouds, while a soft, pale pink band marks the horizon line where the sky meets the atmosphere. The application of paint is smooth, with minimal visible brushwork, which contributes to the clarity of the forms. This work demonstrates O'Keeffe's interest in abstraction and the simplification of natural phenomena. By isolating the clouds from the ground, she removes traditional markers of scale and perspective. The repetition of the cloud shapes creates a pattern that borders on the decorative, yet the work remains grounded in the observation of the physical world. The composition is balanced, with the horizontal orientation of the canvas reinforcing the expansive nature of the subject matter. The colour palette is restricted to shades of blue, white, and a subtle hint of pink, which maintains the atmospheric quality of the scene. This painting is part of a series that explores the visual possibilities of the sky, reflecting the artist's fascination with the view from high altitudes.