DIY Abstract Beach Sunset Painting

Something my husband and I have always loved is the beach. And one of our favorite things at the beach is the sunset. The colors at sunset are amazing. I saw this beautiful painting of an abstract beach sunset but it cost $$$, I wish I could afford it because it is beautiful! This painting is where I got my inspiration. I really liked the texture the wood gave the painting but I was worried about hanging that on my plaster walls (they will not even hold blinds…so wood out). I started looking for a way to add texture to a painting and I found this post from My Clever Nest. Just what I was looking for…

But I have never done a painting before, so I started looking for how to paint an abstract painting and I found this post from Entirely Eventful Day. I then went to work on my own painting and came up with this… What do you think? My husband wants me to add a sailboat but I do not think I am that good at painting…

Here my tutorial on how I created a textured beach sunset painting without wood. If you really like the wood look I would use shims to create that look (maybe one day I can do a painting this way…).

DIY BEACH SUNSET PAINTING

First step is creating the texture to your painting. To do this you will use modeling paste, found at most craft stores.

I used a plastic spoon and spread the paste all over the canvas (I used the whole bottle for the 24″ x 36″ canvas). Let the paste dry before painting, I would suggest at least 24 hours just to be on the safe side.

The paints I used were craft paints and the colors (left to right): Blue Mist, Laguna (did not use), Peinture, Russian Blue, White, Ivory, Canary Yellow, Nectar, Fiesta Pink, & Pumpink. I do not know if you can still find all the colors because these are my mom’s old paints that she never uses. Thanks, mom!

Next, lightly trace a line where the horizon will be and a circle for the sun.  Make sure the tracing lines are really light because this will make it easier to paint over.

Next is blending the colors together. To do this paint one color and add another color next to the first then blend in the middle. I found that it took some practice at getting the hang of it.

Let me give you some tips that helped me:

1. Always have a paper towel in one hand and wipe the brush often when blending two different colors (when blending the blues, I found you did not need to do this as much).
2. Make sure your cleaning your brush in-between blending colors or during (that’s why you have a cup of water but change it often).
3. By the cup of water have another paper towel to wipe off the brush after cleaning.
4. Make sure your brush in never dry (you will notice that maybe the paints are not blending well, get your brush wet and see if that helps).
5. Sometimes it helps to step away for a couple of hours and let things dry.
6. Mistakes happen and that’s fine because you can just paint over it…

Here is my steps for painting my picture, each picture is when I stepped away and let things dry for a couple of hours.

When adding the blue in the ocean, I found it easier to pour some paint directly onto the canvas and then blend the paints.

And the final product…

Cost for Custom Beach Sunset Painting:
24×36 Canvas- $14.50  (50% coupon)
Paint- Free ($.60 per one with 40% coupon- $5.40)
Modeling Paste- $7.80 (40% coupon)
Paint Brush- Free

Total- $22.30

That price is not bad for a custom abstract painting… And just so everyone knows, this was not hard, it just took a little patient when blending the colors. Anyone else doing some custom artwork?

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