By CraftingStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Tracie Kiernan.
The sky does most of the work in this one. Tracie Kiernan blocks it in Mars black at the very top and blends down, which is what gives the finished painting that deep galaxy feel behind the tower.
The lighthouse itself is simpler than it looks - a tapered white tower, a black lantern room, and a handful of loose windows. Save the light beams for last and use almost no paint on the brush, or they read as solid streaks instead of glow.
10 steps · about 47 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Tape the canvas edges, then load a 3/4 inch flat with Mars black and work it across the very top of the canvas.
The sky is darkest right at the top and lightens as it comes down, so keep the heaviest black up high.
Tip
Tap the brush dry after loading it in water. A wet brush floods the black and you lose control of the gradient.
Switch to a dry blender brush and work the black downward in short strokes so it fades toward the horizon.
No need to rinse between passes - you are moving paint that is already on the canvas rather than adding more.
Tip
Do not over-blend. If you keep going, every colour merges into one flat tone and the sky goes dead.
Lay a warm glow along the horizon line using horizontal strokes, then blend upward into the darker sky.
Keep some variety in the colours up there. A little unevenness reads as atmosphere.
Mix equal parts turquoise and white and run horizontal strokes just under the horizon line, getting as close to it as you can.
Where the turquoise meets the dark blue below, work that transition zone extra. It does not need to blend perfectly.
Draw a rough rock line across the lower third, letting a few rocks peek up above it.
Then find the centre of the canvas, measure about seven inches up from the horizon and sketch the tapered tower with a ruler.
Tip
A wider base and narrower top is what makes it read as a lighthouse rather than a chimney.
With fresh water and a 3/4 inch flat in titanium white, fill the tower with a solid coat.
Then outline one edge in blue and blend it in toward the centre using the full width of the brush, so the tower turns rather than sitting flat.
Paint the black lantern room at the top, then a thin railing line and evenly spaced vertical bars.
Add a small rectangular door at the base and three windows up the tower, keeping the shapes loose and slightly abstract.
Tip
Highlight the black while it is still wet - a little white blends in to grey and stops it looking like a flat silhouette.
Outline each rock individually before you fill anything in, even though they will all end up black.
Once they are solid, add a touch of light colour to the right side of each one and blend it gradually. Keep it subtle or the rocks glow harder than the lighthouse.
Load white on the flat brush and wipe most of it off - you want to see the water through the layer.
Drag a thin reflection directly under the tower, then add horizontal lines. Keep them small and dense near the horizon, longer and further apart as they come toward the bottom.
Tip
That spacing change is what creates distance in the water. Even lines flatten it out.
Flick a toothbrush loaded with white to spatter stars across the sky, smearing a few into a glow and leaving others as plain dots.
Finally, dry-brush the beams outward from the lantern room. Use barely any paint and work the brush repeatedly so the beam stays see-through.
Tip
If the beams look solid, there is too much paint on the brush. They should feel like light, not lines.
Keep going
How to Paint Water and Reflections
Liquitex
Liquitex BASICS Acrylic Paint Set (24 tubes)
Artist-grade pigment at student pricing, buttery enough to blend and thick enough to hold a stroke. The set most acrylic painters start on.
Benicci
Benicci 16-Piece Artist Brush Set
Every shape you actually reach for (round, flat, filbert, liner, fan) in nylon that keeps its point and does not shed. Comes with a palette knife and case.
FIXSMITH
FIXSMITH 8" x 10" Stretched Canvas (12-pack)
Pre-primed cotton canvases in a bulk pack so you can just start painting. The low-stakes surface for practicing before the big piece.
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