Paint a Cityscape with a Sunset in Watercolors

Some people like to capture the sunset in watercolor painting as they view the sun setting off in the distance. Such a painting can take little or much time depending on how much detail is added to it. Using watercolor can be very effective in many ways as well. You can make it opaque or transparent, or a mixture of the two. Your watercolor painting of a sunset may surprise friends, too.

To be honest, you do not have to paint 'plein aire' (outside) unless you think you can capture the moment quickly. You can use one or several pictures of sunsets to come up with your own idea for painting. Determine your horizon line and lightly sketch it into place. This will help with your two-point perspective on the ends of the horizon. You also may want to take along some bug spray for the late evening.

Here are a few good tips to help you with your painting. A good thing to know is that most of the cityscape will be shadowed in a dark blue color, not black. The sun tipped edges may need either a flake white or silver depending on the setting of the sun. Remember that glass buildings will show a reflection of the sky and buildings across the street. These few tips are critical for a good watercolor cityscape.

But even before you start painting all of this, start with the top of the sky and work your way down to the bottom of your painting so that any running of the paint can be dabbed up before it gets too far along. This is only necessary if you are painting on a tilted surface. Start with a deep blue and slightly lighten it up before you bring it into its next color range. Typically you will paint the colors in this fashion; blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, and pale yellow as you paint down to the sun. This is not always the case. Take the time to pay attention to the color changes in the sky.

Skip over the buildings and paint in any upper landscaping followed by foreground landscape. Pay close attention to greens, browns and yellows of the fauna so that you are obtaining the correct color match. When this is all dry, carefully go back and paint the buildings in working from the center out to the sides. Once the landscape colors have dried, paint over the areas where the fauna is in from of the buildings. Finally, all the highlights can be added into the rest of the painting with all the attention you want them to have.

You can always come back to your sunset cityscape and rework any of it. The key to a good painting, though, is to do your best to not overwork it or it may turn out to be overly busy in appearance. Strategically placed colors will show off the hard work you put into your painting. Now the only question left to ask yourself is, "Should I keep this for myself, give it as a gift or try to sell it?"