In my art training, I’m learning to see shapes, colors, relationships and placements of one object to others I hadn’t noticed before. Then select a small portion of what I see and use tricks to transfer this idea to a flat surface.
As I sketch an interesting cloud formation I use a light touch at it’s top but a heavy line at it’s bottom to show weight and shadow. I see clouds John didn’t notice but I use a line to represent them, although there is NEVER a line around anything. The heavy darker bottom line is a trick because although I’m sure a cloud has weight, the water molecules at it’s bottom are probably the same as at the top.
In my opinion, if I use tight rendering tricks and my tools (pencil or paint) exceptionally well, making a flat surface “look like real clouds” I have impressed the viewer with me not the clouds. If I strip away all the tricks and technique I can, and leave only the wonderful shape and essence of cloudlyness, I’ve made a picture of clouds not of me impressing you with my skills. This is Raw Art or Outsider Art.