How to Paint a Sunset Acrylic Painting
Learn how to paint a sunset acrylic painting with a moon. This is a beginner friendly painting tutorial even if you are new to acrylic painting, you can give this painting tutorial a try. You will learn how to successfully paint a sunset acrylic painting by adding a moon and some simple trees. Try this fun moon, sunset, acrylic painting by reading more below.
How to Paint a Sunset Acrylic Painting with a Moon
Supplies Needed:
-Canvas, watercolour paper, or canvas board
-Cup of water
-Palette
-Cloth rag
-Acrylic Paint - cadmium red, mars black, titanium white, cadmium yellow, cobalt blue
-flat one inch brush
-round detail brush
-round #6 brush
If you prefer to watch the video tutorial, you can click on the video below to watch it. Be sure to subscribe to my acrylic painting channel by clicking here so that you don't miss out on any new painting tutorials.
This is a great beginner friendly tutorial, where you will learn how to paint a sunset acrylic painting, as well as adding details like painting trees, painting of crescent moon and painting stars.
If you are looking to improve your acrylic painting skills, please download the free 12 page guide to improve your acrylic painting skills as a beginner artist faster. Click on the button below to download this guide right now.
Steps for How to Paint a Sunset Acrylic Painting
Step 1: Paint the Background
On the top third of the painting surface start by mixing mars black with cobalt blue. You will use that dark blue colour to paint a couple layers of paint on the top third this will be the darkest part of the night sky in the painting. You can use your flat a 1 inch brush and use long horizontal brushstrokes to create a smooth effect with the paint.
You don't need to clean your brush, you can just add some more cobalt blue to your paintbrush and blend in a little bit of cobalt blue. That's about an inch or two wide under that dark blue layer of paint in the sky. You can do a couple layers of paint to make sure that the background is completely covered.
The next inch of sky, you can add some more cobalt blue. You can mix in some titanium white, so that it is a lighter blue and add another inch or two under this medium blue. Again, using the same paintbrush, and long, smooth horizontal strokes.
Next, you can mix a pinky colour, using some red yellow and titanium white in the painting tutorial. I am using primary magenta as well as naples yellow, which is a light colour, a light yellow colour, but you can use the colours of paint that you had access to and mix a sort of light orangey, pink colour.
You can paint about an inch of this pinky orange colour, and then add another inch layer of a light yellow colour by mixing some yellow with some titanium, white or using naples yellow like I have used in the tutorial. Again, I am using the same 1 inch flat brush, and long horizontal strokes to complete the background of this painting.
The bottom inch or two of the canvas is going to be trees and grass so you can use just straight Mars black with your 1 inch flat brush to create the silhouette of the trees at the bottom. Make sure you are adding a couple coats of paint for each background colour on the canvas or painting surface.
Step 2: Paint the Trees
Next, you are going to paint the trees once the background paint has dried. To paint the trees you can use your number six round brush, and mars black to paint the silhouettes.
Start by planning how many trees he would like to add in your painting, and where the trees would like to be spaced out.
Using your round number six brush, you can dip it into the mars black paint and create vertical lines for how tall your trees are. When you are painting trees, it's important to remember that all trees look different. You don't want your trees to be too perfect or two similar looking because that's not how realistic trees look.
You can add some texture and keep the trees looking abstract. You can add smaller trees or bushes and fill in the space to make the forest look more natural. I like to use my paint at the top of the vertical line that I've made, and start adding branches at the top of the tree working my way down. I work quickly to make the trees look abstract and textured, and I don't worry about making the trees look too perfect or precise.
Step 3: Paint the Stars and the Moon
Next, you can paint the details of this sunset acrylic painting by using a round number two brush, or a smaller round pointed tip brush for details you can use titanium white and make small dots at the top of the sky for the stars or you can use your brush and create a splatter effect for smaller stars.
You can decide where you would like your moon to be positioned by creating a crescent moon on the left side of the canvas, you could also paint a full moon. You can click on my full moon tutorial by clicking here to learn how to paint a moon with more detail.
Conclusion:
This is a great beginner friendly tutorial, where you can learn how to paint a sunset acrylic painting and adding a moon and trees. If you want to improve your painting skills, you can download my FREE beginner acrylic painting guide by clicking on the button below!
Be sure to subscribe to my acrylic painting channel, so that you don't miss new tutorials that come out. You can comment on a video and let me know what tutorials you would like to see next from me.
