Maui Sunset, watercolor

One of our vacation routines that my wife and I have gotten into is finding a spot near the beach each evening to watch the sunset. We end up taking endless photos trying to capture the colors as they constantly change. I don't think we have seen a sunset with a clear sky yet, but the clouds just add to the uniqueness, beauty, and the colors even after the sun has gone below the horizon.

Here is my attempt at capturing the sunset in watercolor. As beautiful as this is, I don't think I have captured the brilliance of the colors yet.

Beach meditation at sunset

I love sunsets and all the colors that light up in the sky, and the colors come even more alive with clouds. And here in California, sunsets at the beach hit water just right and the rhythmic waves make it a perfect spot for meditating. So here is a man meditating at the beach, part of a story I'm working on illustrating. The challenge here was getting the waves right as they come into the beach...

Original sketch in ballpoint pen

First layer of color

Baby Wipe Painting

I'm always willing to try new things.  A friend of mine from my Artist Way group told me of this process of applying paint with baby wipes of all things. "Forget the brushes!" I thought, "Let's give this a try!" On a 3/4 inch thick piece of plywood (8 in x 10 in) I used the baby wipe to apply two different colors of acrylic paint. and within 5 minutes, I had created a sunset (or I suppose it could be turned upside-down for a sunrise).  The moisture of the wipe helped spread the paint on the untreated wood.  The grain still shows through to give it that ethereal look. I also applied paint to the sides of the board for a more completed look without a frame.

Sunset at William B Pond

Back in October, my favorite time of year here in Sacramento, I went for a evening stroll with my wife down by William B Pond to catch a gorgeous sunset. An added benefit of this particular evening was there was also going to be a harvest moon, the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. This was called a harvest moon because it never gets completely dark between sunset and moonrise allowing farmers to continue harvesting late into the night (as well as letting us hike back to our car!).

The great thing about this time of day is that you see all kinds of colors in the sky and they continually change until it is dark.  These colors are all reflected in the calm waters of the pond to enhance the scene even more.  The problem with painting sunsets is the same reason that they are so amazing: the colors constantly change, it doesn't last very long and soon its dark!  Its hard to really get a good sense of the color even in a photograph (at least not with my camera). So, I just put down  a quick horizon and  then focused on the sky and the clouds. I need to work on my gradient coloring, blending the blue at the top of the sky with the reds at the horizon.