Achieving this Vivid Sunset Masterpiece: An Explanation
Hey there! I'm gonna show you how I painted a stunning sunset on Fraser Island, Australia, using oil paints, brushes, and palette knives. Let's dive in!
What's the Deal with this Masterpiece?
The painting features a vibrant sunset from the jetty, with warm, radiant lights, mysterious shadows, and sparkling water. It took about three and a half hours spread over a few sessions. For those who'd rather watch than read, check out the video on this painting right here!
Eye Candy Time!
Below is the reference photo I painted from. I snapped it during my May 2023 visit to K'gari in Queensland, Australia (formerly Fraser Island), where Chontele and I tied the knot.
Materials I Used
Here's my toolkit for this artwork:
- Various brushes and palette knives;
- Ampersand Gessobord, 12 x 16 inches;
- Paper towel;
- French easel;
- Glass New Wave Palette;
- Odorless solvent;
- Tablet (for viewing the reference photo); and
- Oil paints in titanium white, raw umber, transparent red oxide, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, viridian green, magenta, cadmium red, cadmium orange, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, cadmium yellow deep, and cadmium yellow light.
Want to know more about my recommended supplies? Head to the supplies page!
Prepping the Surface
First off, I stain the surface with a dark, earthy color since the subject is relatively dark. I want to start with a dark foundation and gradually work my way up to lighter colors. By the way, I use paper towel to lift paint from the surface and roughly sketch out the main shapes. I also use my finger to loosely sketch the subject, but I don't go into detail. I mainly focus on capturing the jetty, jetty lights, clouds, and horizon line. Remember, small mistakes here can snowball into big problems later, so it's crucial to get it right!
Introducing Colors
After letting the paint dry for about an hour, I introduce color with tentative strokes, focusing on capturing the essence of the subject without committing too quickly.
Time to Shine — The Sky!
The sky is the painting's main attraction. It needs to really pop with all those breathtaking sunset colors. The colors are boldest around the left-hand side where the sun just dipped below the horizon line. I use mostly cadmium yellow deep and a few touches of cadmium orange here. As we move away from the sun, the colors get weaker and cooler, but I still make sure to replicate the soft gradation from the bright yellows and oranges to pale yellows and purples to pale blues to stronger and darker blues in the top right corner. I keep my brushwork loose to convey a hazy atmosphere and the idea of fading sunlight. I also paint over the clouds with darker purples and blues to create contrast.
Water's a Tricky Thing!
The water can be tricky because it's both reflective and translucent. Some areas reflect light from the sky, while others let us see through the water. To capture both qualities, I build up layers of broken color to suggest reflected light and areas where we can see below the water's surface. The broken color technique is straightforward. I take a color on my brush and make a few strokes. Then, I switch to another color and create a few more strokes. I repeat this until I have a patchwork of colors.
Painting the People — Stay Vague!
The people on the jetty are vague and ambiguous, but they still need to be accurate, especially when it comes to proportions and placement. Mistakes here tend to stick out like a sore thumb, while, say, with the clouds, you might not even notice if they're too big or small or a different shape. If you remember, focus on the areas with less room for error, like the people on the jetty, and be more relaxed in other parts of the painting.
Negative Space
I invest significant time in the right-hand side of the water. This color is deeper and more solid than the rest of the water. It also acts as negative space for the people on the jetty. I can use water to carve out and better define the people. I also play around with the negative space between the jetty pillars. I tinker a lot and make adjustments as I strive to get the colors, edges, and negative space just right.
Green Lights
The painting is almost done. All that's left to do is add the green lights along the jetty and the green reflections on the water. These details really bring the painting to life. For the color, I use viridian green mixed with titanium white. These jetty lights are fairly faint, so I keep the color light but noticeable as a light source. I also scumble a bit of the green color on the jetty to pick up the soft glow.
Signing Off!
I sign the painting complete in the bottom left-hand corner with a small round brush and magenta. I'm quite pleased with this one. I think the sky truly shines, and the painting expresses what I wanted it to. It will also serve as a lovely reminder of marrying the lovely Chontele.
Here's the completed painting along with the reference photo for your viewing pleasure:
That's it! I appreciate you taking the time to read my art journey. Feel free to share with friends. If you ever want to learn more, start with my fundamentals course.
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
Dan Scott is the founder of Draw Paint Academy. He is a self-taught artist with a deep interest in landscape painting from Australia. Draw Paint Academy is run by Dan and his wife, Chontele, with the aim to help you make the most of your artistic journey. You can learn more on the About page.
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This landscape painting I created, inspired by a sunset on Fraser Island, Australia, perfectly encapsulates the lifestyle associated with a home-and-garden setting, inviting viewers to envision themselves relaxing by the water's edge. To achieve this, I meticulously blended a variety of oil paints, brushes, and palette knives on an Ampersand Gessobord canvas.
