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Arts and Entertainment
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Painting
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Painting Nature
How to Paint a Sunset Download ArticleExplore this Article Steps Steps Other Sections Questions & Answers Tips and Warnings Things You'll Need Related Articles Reviewed by Jeanine Hattas Wilson
Last Updated: March 13, 2021
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This article was reviewed by Jeanine Hattas Wilson. Jeanine Hattas Wilson is a Professional Painter and the President of Hattas Public Murals, Inc. With nearly 20 years of experience, Jeanine specializes in creating, overseeing, designing, and painting murals. Jeanine holds a BA in Advertising from Marquette University and a Studio Painting Minor from The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. She has studied at The Atelier Artien in Paris, France, Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, and under renowned artists such as Robert Liberace, Michael Siegel, and William Cochran. To date, Hattas Public Murals has painted nearly 5,000 commissioned works of art in homes and commercial and public spaces. This article has been viewed 116,007 times.
This is a tutorial for beginning painters or someone who has never painted to learn to paint a sunset.
Steps
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1 Shake each paint well. You need to do this to make sure the chemicals are mixed.
2 Put a dab of each colored paint on the paper plate far enough away that they will not run together. Advertisement
3 Use yellow paint to create a straight horizontal line either just above or just below the middle of the canvas. This is your horizon line.
4 Make a circle sun in the middle of the canvas just above the horizon line.
5 Pull yellow outwards from the edges of the sun toward the edge of the canvas. Stay going left to right with your brushstrokes.
6 Clean your brush in between the color changes in the water cup and dab it dry on the paper towel.
7 Add orange above the yellow.
8 Blend the orange into the yellow by pulling it slightly down into the yellow. Pull the yellow into the orange to give an even blend. Notice the left side of the image is blended in while the right side is not.
9 Add red the same way you added the orange. Make sure to blend it like you did the orange and yellow.
10 In the left and right top corners of the canvas add some purple. Pull some of it down the sides of the canvas and into the middle of the top of the canvas, but be sure not to pull it too far that it no longer can blend.
11 Around the sun add some white highlights to make it stand out. Pull the white into the surrounding colors. If it starts to fade into the colors too much you can always add more.
12 Go back over the sun in yellow one more time to be sure that it is vibrant.
13 You can finish the bottom of the sunset however you would like! This one was finished with water. It was made with the simple brush strokes and blending just like the sunset was made. You could also finish it with black to make a silhouette painting. Or you could make the sunset the whole painting. Just some suggestions!
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Question Can I do this with watercolors? Phishtacheo Community Answer Yes! Just make sure you use the right paper so that it doesn't rip (ex. if you use printer paper for a lot of color it's going to wrinkle and not look pleasing). Just make sure that the color is a nice gradient, and always use the right colors and real-life reference. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 6 Helpful 39
Question How do I do this with acrylic paint? Community Answer You want to start with the color farthest away from the sun. For example, if you want your sky to still have a little bit of fading blue in the background, start with that. Then add purples, pinks, and red tones, working your way to the center, where the sun will be. Blend your pinks and reds into more orange or pinkish colors, blending into an orange, yellow, golden color for the setting sun. This is fairly easy, because acrylic paint blends so easily, and you can keep going over it, if you don't like it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 11 Helpful 39
Question Can you use normal school notebook paper to pain a sunset? Community Answer Usually no, it'll be too thin and might tear or shrivel up when painted on. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 13 Helpful 28
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Tips
Remember that paint is very forgiving! If you do not like the way it looks, let the paint dry and paint over it later. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 3
Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement
Warnings
If there are any toxic chemicals, wear gloves to avoid getting it on your skin. Thanks Helpful 14 Not Helpful 10
Do not ingest the paint due to the chemicals that could be present within the paint. Thanks Helpful 13 Not Helpful 11
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Things You'll Need
Canvas
Paint brush
Acrylic paints: red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, white
Cup of water
Paper towel
Paper plate
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About This Article
Reviewed by: Jeanine Hattas Wilson Professional Painter This article was reviewed by Jeanine Hattas Wilson. Jeanine Hattas Wilson is a Professional Painter and the President of Hattas Public Murals, Inc. With nearly 20 years of experience, Jeanine specializes in creating, overseeing, designing, and painting murals. Jeanine holds a BA in Advertising from Marquette University and a Studio Painting Minor from The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. She has studied at The Atelier Artien in Paris, France, Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, and under renowned artists such as Robert Liberace, Michael Siegel, and William Cochran. To date, Hattas Public Murals has painted nearly 5,000 commissioned works of art in homes and commercial and public spaces. This article has been viewed 116,007 times. 134 votes - 76% Co-authors: 10Updated: March 13, 2021 Views: 116,007 Categories: Painting Nature In other languages Spanish Portuguese German French
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Stewart
May 24, 2018
"Step-by-step instructions, also the use of shading. Thank you all very much."
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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Reviewed by: Jeanine Hattas Wilson Professional Painter 134 votes - 76% Click a star to vote Co-authors: 10Updated: March 13, 2021 Views: 116,007
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May 24, 2018
"Step-by-step instructions, also the use of shading. Thank you all very much."
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Mar 13, 2023
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Download Article Explore this Article Steps Steps Other Sections Questions & Answers Tips and Warnings Things You'll Need Related Articles Reviewed by Jeanine Hattas Wilson 
How toBlend Acrylic Paint 
How toPaint Rain 
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Reviewed by: Jeanine Hattas Wilson Professional Painter This article was reviewed by Jeanine Hattas Wilson. Jeanine Hattas Wilson is a Professional Painter and the President of Hattas Public Murals, Inc. With nearly 20 years of experience, Jeanine specializes in creating, overseeing, designing, and painting murals. Jeanine holds a BA in Advertising from Marquette University and a Studio Painting Minor from The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. She has studied at The Atelier Artien in Paris, France, Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, and under renowned artists such as Robert Liberace, Michael Siegel, and William Cochran. To date, Hattas Public Murals has painted nearly 5,000 commissioned works of art in homes and commercial and public spaces. This article has been viewed 116,007 times. 134 votes - 76% Co-authors: 10 Updated: March 13, 2021 Views: 116,007 Categories: Painting Nature In other languages Spanish Portuguese German French 
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1 Shake each paint well. You need to do this to make sure the chemicals are mixed. 
Phishtacheo Community Answer Yes! Just make sure you use the right paper so that it doesn't rip (ex. if you use printer paper for a lot of color it's going to wrinkle and not look pleasing). Just make sure that the color is a nice gradient, and always use the right colors and real-life reference. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 6 Helpful 39 
Community Answer You want to start with the color farthest away from the sun. For example, if you want your sky to still have a little bit of fading blue in the background, start with that. Then add purples, pinks, and red tones, working your way to the center, where the sun will be. Blend your pinks and reds into more orange or pinkish colors, blending into an orange, yellow, golden color for the setting sun. This is fairly easy, because acrylic paint blends so easily, and you can keep going over it, if you don't like it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 11 Helpful 39