How to Do Oil Painting Sunsets
- 1). Set up a space to paint in. Place the canvas on a table against the wall or on an artist's easel. Place a small amount of each paint color on the plastic palette. Pour a little paint thinner into a glass jar and set out clean rags with which to wipe off brushes.
- 2). Sketch the horizon line, the point where the sky meets the earth onto the canvas. Add a round circle about this for the setting sun or even attach a half circle to the horizon line to show that part of the sun has already set. Sketch in additional scenery, if desired. A beach on the coast with boats in the water contrasts oranges and blues. Gentle rolling hills with a cluster of buildings provides surfaces to catch the sunlight on.
- 3). Fill in the entire canvas with a base coat of color. Each area gets its own color from green grass to a yellow sun. Cover the sunset sky with a light coat of titanium white. This will allow added colors to blend more easily on the canvas.
- 4). Create the colors of the sunset, select a few colors transitioning from a pale blue to bright orange. Brush a row of each color into the sky from top to bottom and making each row progressively narrower until there is a small rim of intense red-orange around the sun. Brush until smooth, adding daubs of color as needed.
- 5). Add the finishing details to the overall painting. Use colors from the sunset to add highlights to other objects in the painting. Add shadows using darker shades of the background colors of each section. Brush each new color in until it blends smoothly with the pre-existing paint. Allow the painting to dry for several days.