Painting a Beach at Sunset with Pumpkins
This painting is as good for beginner painters as those with more experience. Basically we are working with a Complementary Color scheme. This is important because these colors are opposite each other on the color wheel and this means that if they are blended together completely, it will result in “mud”. So our blending method will be explained below.
Paints & Products
Ultramarine Blue, Thalo Blue, Cad Yellow Med., Cad Yellow Light, Cad Red Light or Vermillion, Burnt Umber, White
Texture Paste or Spackle (from hardware store
Flat Brushes, fan brush, liner brush & palette knife
Measurements to get us started
Sky Measurements: On an 11 x 14 horizontal canvas, measure down about 3 1/2″ for the horizon line.
Sand Dune: Mark about 6 1/2″ up from Left lower corner and 2″ up from lower Right corner. Draw an irregular line between for the sand dune.
Surf Line: Make an irregular line from about 3/4″ down from horizon line on left to about 2 1/2″ up from the Dune line on the Right.
Wash (use very thin paint); wash in the beach area closest to the water with White + UMB + water. Use same mixture to wash in the Sand dune area.
Transfer foreground design
Using saral transfer paper (from Michaels, Joann’s, Hobby Lobby) with carbon side down on canvas, trace over foreground design (fence line and pumpkins). You may just sketch in these elements by eye, if you wish.
Painting Sky
Because we are using Complementary colors (which can create MUD if blended together) we will place the color mixes, side by side and blend at just the edges where any two mixes touch.
Upper Left: UMB + Th B + tch CadRedLt. + tch White This mix gets lighter & narrower at the /right side
Next Section on Right: CadRedLt +CYMed+ CYLt (orange). Blend these 2 sections together at the meeting edge.
Then below that: Cad Yellow Lt + White. Don’t forget the SUN, which is White, softened & blended out into the rest of that section. Blend this top edge into the one above.
Area from the Right: Orange (mix from above) + tch White Blend top edge into one above.
Area just above horizon line: CadYellowLt + Cad YellowMed. Blend into section above it.
Then if more subtle blending is needed, you may MIST w/ water & blend lightly, color mix to color mix. Not too much water.
Water
Directly under the horizon line for about 1/4″: ThBlue + tch CRedLt. + tch White. This is a very dark grayed blue.
Take this color mix and apply in streaks for waves. These will be closer together toward the horizon (therefor the water will look darker). The dark waves will be further apart as they approach the beach (therefore will look lighter). These lines should be rather sketchy, with some flowing into the others (the waves are all part of the same water).
Place Lights in the water: White + UMB + Tch CYLt. Place next to and above dark streaks and blend horizontally to soften together slightly. (remember the water is all part of the same body and flows together – don’t leave streaks separate).
Beach and Foreground Dune
Mix of White+UMB + tch CRdLt. (Med Blue gray). Make “splotches” on beach & dune to replicate footprint shadows. Come back with a damp brush to blend a bit.
Sea Oats & Grasses
Mix various mixes of grass colors: UMB + CYMed. + Burnt Umber to darken and CYLt. + tch White to lighten.
Ground grass: Scumble (scrubbing motion with side of brush) some dark mix on at top part of dune. Hilite.
Med. Height grass: use a fan brush to “jab” & push up to create wispy grasses, Using various mixes of the green mixtures.
Sea Oats: Use a liner brush & pull up loose long oat stems. with the corner of fan brush to dab in the tops.
Foreground
Darken foreground with gray mix: UMB +BU (thinned with water)
Fence Posts: Base with : BU +UMB (very dark). Highlight with: Orange mix: Cad RedLt. + Cad YMed.
Shadow under posts: Same dark mix from posts only made very thin by addition of water. Follow light direction and make sure it’s opposite.
Pumpkins
Underpaint: CadRdLt + CadYMed. + BU (rusty Red) (carefully cover all of the texture paste – edges, cracks & crevices).
Paint over: various mixes of CYM+CRdLt
Highlight: Above mix + CYLt + White
Fence Posts
BU + UMB (Very dark), Highlight on Light side with Orange mix (CYM + CRdLt)
Shadows Under: Same mix as above but thinned with water or blending medium to make translucsent. Will be in the opposite direction of the sun light.
Finish
Always go back and check your finished painting. Look at it, even after a few days with “new eyes”.
Check to see if your highlights and shadows are strong enough and are in the correct places. Remember your “Light Source” which in this case is the setting sun.
ENJOY!!