How to Paint a Sunset with Watercolors

Last Updated: March 16, 2022 Tested

Sunsets are an elegant part of nature––seeing one always brings about a sense of wonder. Painting sunsets using watercolors is an enjoyable way of extending your painting skills and producing colorful, vibrant and interesting works of art. Extend your portfolio by learning how to paint beautiful sunsets with watercolors.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Preparation

1
Place the watercolor paper on a clean surface, ready for painting. Choose somewhere that is well lit, so that you can see what you're doing with ease, and the colors appear realistic.
- It's a good idea to begin with a small piece of paper, then as your confidence grows, you can paint larger sunsets.
2
Gather together the watercolors you will be using for the project. For a sunset, the following colors are recommended:
- Windsor Blue or blue
- Cadmium Red or red
- Lemon Yellow or yellow
- Cobalt Violet or purple
- Rose Madder Genuine or pink
- Windsor Orange or orange
- Windsor Green (yellow shade) or dark green.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Painting the sunset

1
Start by lightly drawing a line in the middle of the watercolor paper. Use a 6B pencil (or whatever pencil you prefer to draw with). Once the line has been drawn, on the upper half of the watercolor paper, dampen it just a little with water, using a size 10 Brush (or big brush).
2
Quickly paint lemon yellow (or yellow) lines on the dampened upper half of the paper. Paint in lines, going back and forth. Do not cover the entire paper with yellow paint; you'll be adding other sunset-related colors shortly.
3
Before the paint dries, paint lines using Cadmium Red (or red), Windsor Orange (or orange), and Rose Madder Genuine (or pink). Paint swiftly, randomly and spontaneously, moving the brush lines back and forth across the yellow part of the paper.
- Use only a little touch of Windsor Blue.
4
Using the half-line on the paper as a starting point, begin painting the hills in the background. Use a size 6 brush and Windsor Green and Cobalt Violet paint for the hills. Keep them simple at this stage; you can be fancier when you gain more confidence.
5
Paint the lake. Paint back and forth using the same colors as you did for the sky. For more reflective look, use white pastel and draw short, wavy lines before painting the lake.
6
Done. Now you can show off your painting of a sunset to your friends and family. Keep practicing; the more you do, the more your own creativity will take hold and the sunsets will begin to look much more professional.

Warnings

Do not put too much paint or water in one spot, or paper will either tear or start to get lumpy.

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Things You'll Need

A set of watercolors
Watercolor paper (a good size is: 275 X 375 mm)
Paintbrushes in sizes 10, 6, and 4 (big, medium, and small paintbrushes work as well)
A cup of water to wash your brushes
A paper towel to dry your brushes
A pencil 2B, HB, or 6B (6B works best)
Kneaded eraser
A white pastel (optional)