Painting Serenity : A Sunset of Hope

1. Introduction: Sunsets are nature way of painting the sky, a gentle reminder of the beauty, change, and peace that comes with letting go. Each one is so unique with colors blending effortlessly to create magic. Hi, I'm Somia Kartik, a passionate artist, and welcome to my first kel sha class, painting Serenity, a sunset of hope. I'm excited to have you here, and it's a true joy to share this creative experience with you. In this class, we'll be painting a serene sunset with a bird soaring gracefully through the sky. We'll be using just three warm primary colors, red, yellow, and blue to keep things simple yet stunning. I'll guide you step by step on how to create soft glowing size using wet on wet metal and create crisp details like painting a bird using Breton rye metal. So whether you're starting your watercolor journey or already have some experience with it and want to refine your skills, this class is perfectly designed to have fun and easy to follow along. So by the end of this class, you'll have a beautiful place full of warmth and hope to brighten your space. So grab your brushes, your colors, and let's paint this serene sunset and bring it to life. See you next session. 2. Class Materials: Welcome back guys. In this section, we'll talk about the materials we'll be using for the class project. First, I'll talk about the paper, watercolor paper we'll be using. I'm going to use Fabriano Artistico, 100% cotton paper, which is of 300 GSM, 140 LB and size five by seven. I'll be using this block for class project and also explain the techniques as you go. I'll be taping the watercolor paper in this glass board using this masking tape. And next coming to the brushes, I'll be using these three brushes. One is flat brush for the initial washes, and I'll be using this Escuda size ten brush for painting the sky, and also this one detailer brush for painting the bird and also the sand. So this is from Mincent Newton, size five Foundation series, and this is from Zenart supplies for the initial washes, size Eight size flat brush. Next, I'll talk about the colors. In this class, we are going to paint a beautiful vibrant sunset with three primary colors. So it is a limited color palette so that it will not be overwhelming. Even for beginners, they can use any primary colors. It can be warm primary colors, can be cool primary colors. I'm going to use these three colors. So these are the spatches new gamboge and this is the one. And next one is pyro scarlet and the final one color is French ultramarine. These are the three primary colors and we'll use only these three colors to paint this bird too. We don't need black. But if you are not comfortable mixing the colors, you can use black. That's an option. Next we need two jars of water, one for initial washes and one for washing off your breashtress. Next, you can use optional white gouache to paint the sun. And also you need a pencil and eraser to make your bird sketch and sun sketch. And you can even use a spray bottle to reactivate your paints, if it got dry, make sure you keep it ready, and then we start at class project. So as you can see, I have made few tryouts while planning for this class. So I have used both warm primary colors and cool primary colors. You can see this one is warm and this one is cool, and I even tried on canvas. You can see that. So you don't want to have too many colors. You just need yellow, blue and red color to make your bird, even making black color. But you can also use black if you're not comfortable in mixing colors. Grab your supplies and let's get started. 3. Color Swatches: Hi, friends. Welcome back. In this section, I'll swatch the colors, all these three primary colors for a glass project we'll be using. So what are the colors we need? It's new gamboge, you can see, and next one is Pyl scarlet. The third color is French ultramarine. You can use any ultramarine for this. A I'll tell the alternative or substitute color you need if you don't have these exact same colors as I use. So first, I'll swatch the colors for you and then we'll see the alternative for the other colors actually. Oh so first, I'm going to swatch the yellow. This is the already said, all these are warm colors, warm primary colors, and they are super pigmented and they are all from the same brand. It's Daniel Smith actually. They have warm colors and cool colors and many other different colors too. But these three colors are best for a beginner to start. So see, they're super pigmented and I allow the vibrancy color. See? This new Gamboge if you don't have new gamboge, you can use, I think, you can use candymelo orange, or Indianello you can use or candy Mello deep. And the next color we'll be swatching is Pyl red. So this is a next color we'll be using for a beautiful sunset. So make sure you have your colors ready before we start a glass project, and then it'll be very useful to do your project easily. So this is a color. If you don't have Pyl scarlet, I mean, you can use Cdium red hue, this is from son Newton, or you can use scarlet red. This is from Q or watercolor, actually. These are super big merin too. And the next color you're going to swatch is French ultra merin. So So you should have a very dark color. As watercolor dries very light, you can use more dark tick colors in your watch and see the color actually. If you don't have French ultramarine, I think ultramarin will be in all the basic set and bigness sets. If you don't have ultramarin, you can use to blue, and this is from Sena actually. You don't want to buy this, but I'm just giving you a substitute one. These are the colors we'll be using for class project, get your colors and let's get started. 4. Techniques Part 1 - Wet on Wet: Hi, guys. Welcome back. In this technique section, we'll be seeing two min techniques we are going to need while painting a glass project. One is wet on wet technique, and the other one is wet on dry technique. Wet on Wet technique we'll use to create this beautiful smooth sky and wet on dry technique to paint our bird, actually. So let's start. So I'm applying even coat of water on my paper. So wet on wet is nothing but applying wet paint on a wet surface. So first I'm applying my clean water. See, make sure there is no puddle. And it's very glossy. I hope you can see it. So I'm starting with my lighter color. So always apply your lighter color first, then your darker color. Apply them next to each other so that it will blend evenly. You can even move the board after you apply the pines to get that smooth transition. I applied yellow and red. So you can see a beautiful orange in between them. So you can add even more colors if you are not satisfied. So make sure you apply dark colors if you want a vibrant sky. See? As you can next I'll show you the beautiful colors. That's it. See? Before starting in between. You can see drawn here for the sun. I'm going to write my paper. Entire paper. It's okay if you cover the sun. Make sure you apply an even coat of water and not a puddle, your sky will blend evenly if you have the correct amount of water to paint ratio. First, I'm going to apply even coat of water in my paper. Then I'll start my paint. I apply even coat of water now. Now I'm going to take my yellow color first. I'll apply around the sun. In watercolors, after the paint is dry, it might look even lighter, make sure you use dark colors if you want a vibrant sunset. See, I'm just going around the sun with yellow paint. Then it's just going around it, and I'm using my next color now, which is nothing but scarlet red. So you can just apply paint. Next color that is I'm using my right next to yellow. Make sure keep a tissue paper near you so that you can take the excess paint or water if you don't need it. First I applied my red color. After yellow. I don't like that. I'm making a smooth transition by taking some more yellow. See, you can see a beautiful orange. It's okay. Happy accents are always good. Next, I'll be taking my blue for applying to the top of the sky. So make sure you have your paper wet while doing this step because wet on wet technique is always good for skies and your skies will look smooth. I got this brown color by mixing my blue and red. And also I'm going to apply it in the bottom surface. So make sure for this entire process, your paper stays wet. Then only you'll get a smooth blend. So I'm going to paint a sky now. Sorry, not sky. Clouds now. You using just a few vertical strokes. You can use a touch of blue even to get your sky little brown with your red and yellow colours. It will also look beautiful actually. Make sure your surface is wet and also stop applying these clouds if your paper got dry. Make sure you re wetted it and then start again. Then only your blends will look smooth and beautiful. I think my legs are already dry, so I'm going to apply a clean coat of water again. Oh, the surface. Let's wait. While my layer is still wet, I use a tissue paper so that I can paint the sun later because I see my pencil sketch, so I don't like that. No problem. We'll use whitewash or white watercolor paint to paint the sun later after painting the bird. Okay. Let's wait till it gets dry. 5. Techniques Part 2 - Wet on Dry: I'm going to start my sketch for the bird. I start with a like this, a small thin and a head that is curved. And then for the wings, I go like this. And then it's like an M shape, actually. So I just see and paint my birds. That's my style. So so start with a small beak, then curve and then come like this and then go a little bit high like this, curved straight line, and then an shape or this is the shape of a whale fin. You can, you know, so like this and then a curved line and then come again like this. Then for the tail part. Again, a curved line, and then a twist. So next for the bottom, just from the beak, you start here, bend it, and then create the tummy or the body of the bird and then connect these two. So I think it looks like a bird. So make sure you get this sketch ready, practice it, and then we'll start to paint. So as we see in the second technique, wet on wry techniques, so we are going to paint the bird with a wet on technique. So I'm going to start with my red, yeah, red, yellow paint, actually. Yellow and red paint, actually. So I'm applying wet paint on a dry paper so you have more controlled and crisp strokes because this technique is used for detailing actually way all that is. So you can use this wet on dry technique. Always to add your details to your landscape or flowers, whatever it might be. I think it's two, so I'll add more orange. Sorry, yellow. And then I'll create a brown now after this. I'll make a brown now adding blue, yellow and red, all these three, Beginners, it might be not easy to blend this properly, but don't worry, make sure you practice before you start your class project and try these techniques. It will be definitely for the try and you'll be more confident while painting actually. Because I as a beginner definitely did a lot of tryouts and then got the hank. Don't worry, keep practicing guys, then you'll get it. See, I got a brown using all the three colors. Now I'm going to make more darker color, like a dark brown and then keep coloring the bird. You can use a bigger brush. This one is a pointed one, so I'm using my big brush itself because it has a fine pointed thing. See, it has a fine pointed tip. So you can use this brush fine pointed brush if you have, or you can use this brush to. This one is good, too. You can use a smaller size brushes for adding the bird. Now when you come to the beak, be careful. You don't lose the shape and then keep adding colors to your bird. Make sure you don't go over the line outside the line, I mean, so that your bird looks Good. In your landscape? I think I'll add even more blue to get my darker color that is black. See? I pod is getting life. Getting to life now. So make sure you paint it evenly and in a good way. Se wet on dry technique. You can just paint over the drawing you made and have more controlled strokes more control or paint too because you can wipe off take a paint if you don't like it, and then blend it again. But you might get sharp edges by using wet on dry technique. I think it's even more brown, so I'll make sure to add more blue to get even darker color. And I'm going to blend it now. I'm going to blend it now. See? And I'm going to blend my bid at the bottom. Smooth blend. So keep applying your plans. Do you like it? I'm retouching it a smooth blend, I think. Finally, make it smooth. The shape is good for bird. You practice this bird painting before your class project, it might be very really helpful actually, and you don't want to make your landscape bad. So practice this technique. Wet on dry and wet both techniques before you start a last project. I think this layer is dry. So I keep my hands and see whether it's dry. Yeah, it is dry, so I'm going to use my smaller brush because this is a small layer, so I'm going to use my smaller brush to add my birds. And before that, I'll erase the sun because I don't lie because we don't want pencil marks. So I'm erasing it. So make sure you don't sketch it or you can erase it after if your pencil marks are seen. So I'm going to paint few birds. Not this one, but a simple one for beginners. I'm going to paint a simple one so that you can practice and then start your painting. I'm going to use a V shape bid like this. I like this. A small one. Next one, I'm going to give a few detail like head and a leg like this you can make your wings little bigger like this and small curve like this and an tu M shaped. S. It's that simple guys, please practice it and you can paint it like a pro. So keep practicing these techniques and then start your class project. See you next section. 6. Class Project - Painting the Sky: Hi, guys. Welcome back. So you can see I have taped my watercolor paper on all the four edges to keep my edges clean. So make sure you do the same before starting a class project. First, I'm going to draw the sun before wetting my paper. So draw a small circle, but with a very light pressure in your pencil, so don't draw it too thick because it might be seen after you paint. So this is my son. So I'm going to wet my paper before doing a sky. So make sure you apply a clean coat of water. And get a glossy look before painting the sky and also make sure there is no puddle of water on the sides. Make sure you use tissue paper, and then wipe off the edges actually. If you paint over the santo, it's okay. Not a problem. We can use white gouache. Finally, if it gets covered. Practice the techniques before you Srta glass project guys. Make sure you practice a lot. The few techniques I told you in our technique sections and then start with the gloss project and make sure you keep your colors ready and you don't want to run out of colors in the middle of a painting. So make sure you keep your colors ready to your sides. I use my flat brush to wet my paper. So as you can see. You can see a glossy look right, see. So make sure there is no puddles. I'm going to wipe more of my edges. Because your paints might go and make your painting look bad. So make sure you clean your itches and also make sure you apply even coat and the water stays for a long time because 100% cotton paper, if you use the water stays for long. If you use any 25% cotton paper, it'll be good, but it will not stay that long actually. Make sure you use 100% cotton paper guys to get a good result. For beginners, I know it might be a little difficult if they don't want to invest. But please guys get the best paper first. Be watercolour always gives a better and great result in a good Watercolor paper, you invest. Try out 25% cotton paper or 50% cotton paper if you're not ready to invest, then you can start with 100% cotton paper if you're more confident and you want to paint more. So I have applied even coat of water now. Let's get started. First, I'm going to take a lighter color of yellow. So make sure you go around sun and then make it deeper as you go away from the sun to give your painting a depth and vibrant look. See, I have started. Sun gets covered, make sure you use your tissue paper and depth center. As we drew a circle there, that's your indication. So start with a lighter color and then gradually move to a darker color. First, I'm using new gambooch guys. Next, we'll be using. Next, we'll be using red PyalRd. So So I'm mixing a little bit of both because I think my red is too dark, so I'll make sure I'll add more orange to my color to tone it down. So I think my son is getting covered, so I use a damp brush or a tissue paper to make it So I'll blend the colors evenly, guys. Use circular motions like this. And when you go away from the sun, you keep your colors darker. Blend the two colors evenly guys so that they don't look like patches. I'm going to use my damp brush. See? You can use a damp brush too. Dab the paper, clean it in a water and dab the excess water, and then you can do, make sure you do it fast because some places you are in the water paper might get dry soon. So make sure you do it fast. Next I'm going to take my blue. Oh Next time we're going to take my blue and then make it darker towards the bottom see. If I mixed all red, yellow, and blue to get this deep color. So I won, you need to act fast. I think my top layer has dried, so I'm going to rewet my paper at the top part alone to keep my paper wet and damp. And so you can see the sun and see, I have added blue at the base with a mix of all three. Next, for the top layer, I'm going to add some more red like this for small horizontal strokes. And then I'm going to take my blue and then and a little bit red. So as you can see, these are all three warm colors. Se it's like purple, reddish purple, but I want to make it look even more like brown, so I'm adding more red and a little bit yellow to get the warm tone. So Make sure you do it all fast because it might get dry, so I'm giving some more depth at the bottom two. I'm taking some red and make it even more vibrant. And also, while this is still wet, you can add some strokes with red and a little bit yellow. See, you can have simple horizontal strokes like this. You can take a little bit or a little bit of blue to get a little brownish color. So keep making your clouds after you apply even coat of your paints. So first yellow, next, you are going with blue. Next, I want even more depth. I'm going to take all the three colors and apply it at the top of the sky to make it even more darker because as watercolor dries lighter, you should use pigmented pains when you do watercolors so that your result will be more vibrant and beautiful. I like desired actually. So so I'm going to do some more layer of low to make it more vibrant at the center of near my son actually. So make sure you do it fast, otherwise, your paints will dry and you had to re wait and rewet and then start it again. So I think I need more yellow here because the transition should be smooth and it'll look beautiful artery. So make sure you apply even coat of pins and keep your layers smooth So one more final touch for my sky at the top of the sky, I'm going to take blue, red, and a little bit yellow, then more blue. So I need a brownish color at the top with all three mixes. If you mix unequal consistency in all, you'll get a black color, actually. You can even use Prussian blue for a warm tone of ultra melon, but it'll be too deep. That's why I recommend prussian blue, but it's a substitute you can use if you don't have any other blue with you and make your painting like we do now. So I just use some simple horizontal strokes, guys, for my clouds to make it a little dramatic and beautiful. You can add more clouds if you want your clouds to be dramatic, but I'll stop with this because I don't want to lose the um, beautiful colors. I made it before, so I don't want to do it, guys. If you are satisfied, please stop. You don't want to keep using some horizontal strokes like me, satisfied. I'm going to keep adding a little bit depth to my painting by adding a few more layers, guys. This is optional step. We don't want to do it. I'm not satisfied with my painting, so I'm making more darker strokes, darker clouds. See? Simple vertical strokes. Not any fancy strokes. Make sure you use dark colors to make your outcome good because as I already said, watercolor dries a little bit lighter after getting. I'm satisfied with this. I think one more final stroke at the right, then I'll stop. Because I don't want to do it, guys, and make my painting look messy. That's it, guys. See you next section where we'll paint our birds with on re technique. See you next section. 7. Class Project - Painting the bird: Hi, guys. Welcome back. This is the outcome we got after painting our sky. Next, we'll be painting the bird. First, we'll sketch and then paint the bird so that your artwork comes to life. I'll be using all these three colors to make a black and also a brown. And also a mix of these two red and yellow to give the glow because it's soaring near the sun. So first, we'll sketch, I'm going to use my two H pencil and an eraser to draw my sketch, bird sketch, and also I'll be using this size number five round brush to paint my bird. So if you use a smaller brush, you can add crisp petals to your bird and it'll be beautiful. So let's get start sketching. So first, I'm going to start with the beak, so I'll be painting the bird here in between these two areas. First, I'm going to sketch, start with the beak. I think you can see my sketch, start with the beak, then and a little curve for the beaks head. And then I'll be drawing a shape of a curve leaf or a fin shape like a veil for the wings. I'll go up like this and a curve I think you can see my sketch because it's dark, I think you can't see, but you can see, I'll show you after I finish it. So like an shape, Yeah, like an M shape. So then a curve and then bring it down. I think you can see my sketch. Then I started the beak, then a curve, then a little straight curve, like an shape then or a curve leaf, then come back here, then a little curve down here for the tail. This is the upper part, guys. Next, I'll be drawing the bottom part of the bird. I come from the beak. Do a curve? Do a curve like this. And then the body should come a curved line, and then you should join these two. See? It's so simple, guys. Practice it before you draw this bird to your final artwork. I have also provided some other references for the birds drawing. So it's simple birds with MNV shape. So you can try that too if you're not comfortable with this. This is our sketch. I think I'll take and show you a closer look. This is our bird sketch. Next, we'll be mixing the colors. See? I have made all three colors and sprayed my paints to reactivate it. These two also yellow and red colors, make sure you keep it ready. Because it's near the sand soaring from the sun, you need to keep the glow, make sure you keep red and yellow to separately. I'm going to mix this to make a black, see guys. I think this is more brown color. I need to add more blue to make it even darker. So I'm going to take my ultramarin blue French ultramarin and add a little bit. So let's try. I hope you can see that. See? It's close to back. I think I'll add a little more blue. So I think you can swash the colors in a scrap paper and see. So see, it's almost too dark, gray or black. So S, it's dark. You got a black, see, beautiful black by mixing all your warm primaries. So next we'll start beating. I'm going to take my elmo the bashes and keep my pinch do. I'll start with a light color. I'm going to take this yellow first. And a little bit of red. I think this is not yellow. It's too orange, so I'll take more yellow. And then start with the bird, bottom part of the bird. Or you can take day I'm showing the pins. I hope you can see it. Yeah, I think now you can see it. I'll be using these yellow this yellow first. And start with the bottom part. And then little bit red. I think I'm going to I took this color and a little bit of red to make a brown, see, a lighter version. So I'm doing we on ride technique and you'll get crisp patches when you paint this. I'm going I just clean my water. Then I'm blending all three with a damp brush. So I'm going to blend with the damp brush. Make sure you clean your brush and take the excess water before blending the colors. So I'm dabbing off the excess paint and blending these three colors to get even blend. For the glow, I'm adding yellow to the bottom. So next, I'll be mixing this red with this color black, the mix of all three and create a brown and then go after that. See? I made a beautiful color like burnt sienna. So I'm going to just paint the remaining part, little brown. You can keep planting the colours so that it doesn't leave any patchy works. So I'm going to add little yellow and red to keep the glow. You can sketch your bird a little lighter. I sketched it a little bit dark. Usually, bigger artists, they usually sketch it light. But for you to see, I made it a little darker. Next after this, I'm going to take my black and then color it all through the bird. So as as the wings get away, you can make it a little darker. I keep blending two colors, you can see. When you go to the, be careful guys. You don't want to lose the shape. So for the tail two, I'm going to add little brown color to keep the glow. So make sure you do it slowly and give a beautiful look. So next I'm going to take my black and then just paint or the shape I drew. So first, this wing, and then I'll go to the other wing. So you can shape, you can change the shape if you need. If you're confident enough to paint with your brush. See, it's very sharp edges. This round brush size number five from Inson Newton. So I can paint it freely without any fear. If you use a bigger brush, it might not work sometime unless it has a sharp ib like this round brush, actually. So just feeling the colour now. So next, I'll start with the beak. And then the bird's head. Take it slow, guys. Then if you want, you can turn the painting to make it more comfortable. So I'm going to use a brown. The color we made, like burnt sienna, mixing red and a little bit of black. Red, and a little bit of black to get this beautiful brown color. I'm going to blend it here between these two colors. So so washing my brush, dab off the excess tissue. And then using a damp brush, then it. I want to make the beak even more little sharper. I'm taking my black again, dabbing my excess paint, and then shaping it up. So next we have one moving, so I'm going to turn my artwork like this, and then you can see the pencil mark, so I'm just going through that. Make out a line, and then fill it in. Make out a line and then fill it in. So now, you just need to fill those colors. See? So we are now going to blend even more because it doesn't look nice to me. So I'm going to keep blending with brown and then wipe it off. Next, I'm going to use a dam brush to get even glow. I can use red and yellow color, which we mixed earlier. To keep the glow. So clean the brush, dab it in a tissue. And then blend it. Now with the black, I'm going to blend it even more. So take a damp brush, blend the colors. So if you want glow even more, so you can add low to it. But make sure you don't cross the birds body edges and then change the shape. So I think you need to wait till the bird gets dry. So that's it, guys. One more touch, final touch. If you're happy with your bird, you just stop it. Don't overdo it. So let's wait till it gets dry. Or you can use hardware to make it dry faster. So let's wait. 8. Peeling the Tape: I think painting has dried fully. You can erase the pencil marks, then peel off your masking tape, guys. So let's peel off the masking tape now. And also, when you peel off the masking tape, peel it at an ankle so that you get a really nice action. So there you go, guys. A painting is complete, and congratulations for painting along with me and see you in the final section. 9. Conclusion: Congratulations, guys. Lakota created a charming sunset full of warmth and beauty with just a few colors and your own imagination. Thank you so much for joining me in this class today. It's been a true joy to share this great experience with you and I hope you had fun learning few watercolor techniques like wet on wet and wet on rain and painted a beautiful sunset. Isn't it amazing how a simple palette can create something so magical. If you like this class, I truly appreciate if you could leave a review. So it not only encourages me as an instructor and also artists like you who discover this class and don't forget to share your projects in the projects and association of the class. I can't wait to see your beautiful creations and enjoy your creative keep experimenting. Say inspired, and remember every breaststroke is a step towards. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for pleating with me today. See you in the next class.