Autumn Sunset Mixed Media Artwork

November 06, 2020

Autumn Sunset Mixed Media Artwork

Process of my painting Autumn Sunset.

I was playing around with fluids acrylics on watercolor paper. I decided I was going to go out of my comfort zone and use purple for a sunset. Purple is not a color that comes easy to me but I'm always trying to stretch myself.

I came up with this painting that I called Sunset.

I really loved how it turned out and loved the use of purple for the sky

So I decided I wanted to do a similar painting but larger and on a canvas.

I wanted to create texture and use flowy paints. I love textures and love the watercolor effects.

I covered my canvas panel with modeling paste and created different textures using a palette knife, some gramineae that I collected during one of my walks, and some threads leftover from sewing.

Texture created by applying the gramineae on the wet modeling paste.

Texture created with threads and palette knife.

I let everything dry for 24 hours and then started painting using fluid acrylics and inks and water to give that watercolor effect. This is a technique I learned with the artist Summer Lowe when I took some abstract art classes with her at the Johns Creek art center. This is a technique that I love and use a lot in my paintings.

I love to combine different techniques.

I applied some cellophane on my wet paint to create texture [something I've seen watercolor artists do].

Once the paint was dry I removed the cellophane and you can see the textures that were created with the cellophane. You can also see the textures of the threads.

The sun was a happy accident! It was a drop of water. At first I was bummed but then realized that it was perfect for a sun going down and disappearing behind the mountains.

The painting was not finished just yet. I let it sit for about a few days just to give me time to think about what I wanted to do with it. I went over certain areas with several layers of paint to create even more depth.

I also wanted to create a contrast with the graminaea and decided to paint them with sepia.

I also reworked my sun a bit, added more texture to the mountains and colors to the land.

Again I let it sit for several days as I thought something was missing. It wasn't finished just yet. I decided to added more green at the bottom of the mountains and on the land and it now it felt finished.