Painting a Sunset

I wanted to have a serene painting for our bedroom. 

I found a photo that I liked, copyright-free. Plus I used acrylic paints - they dry quickly and mix with water.

I started by painting Gesso (Liquitex) on  a 24 x 36 inch wrapped canvas. Gesso is a primer base, helping acrylic paint to adhere to the canvas surface.  First I brush side to side with a 2 inch brush, wait a little bit, then up and down for even coverage.

Golden acrylic paints before & after painting - cleans up with water.

Several years ago Hobby Lobby had a clearance sale on Golden Acrylic paints. I was lucky to find this pricey paint on sale. They last forever too. If they dry up a little, adding water to the jar works fine.

I started painting the green bushes. First light green which is Golden’s Green Gold, then darker strokes of Jenkins Green to show depth. For the jetty I used Yellow Ochre mixed with Titanium White. I also used these for the sand with more white mixed in.

https://youtu.be/35JcqznA_iU - Click this link for the short video - under one minute!

I applied the turquoise water next using Cobalt Teal, spreading it on the canvas with a palette knife. Then brushing in some Cerulean Blue, Chromium with a 2 inch brush.

At first I did not have a sun setting, the photo did not have one. Before I added the sun, I thought it looked plain to me. I added the sun, some rays, red streaks with Quinacridone Crimson which I did not like either. And the right side of the sky looked too dark.

So I brushed on Titanium White, making a streak across the sky. I liked it better. As with all my art I am not 100% satisfied, but that is why I make art, to see how I can improve next time.

The final part is signing my name and applying the wire hanging. Using a screw eye on either side about 2/3rds of the way up, I attach the wire cord and it is ready to hang. Here it is in my bedroom along with my Degas Ballerina.

©Anne Rita Taylor

David Jones Lettering

©Anne Rita Taylor 2016

By Anne Rita Taylor

I won a Scholarship in 2012 from the Houston Calligraphy Guild. I knew I had to do a meeting presentation at HCG within the year which is a requirement of winning.

By David Jones

While I was working full time I found an online class from an Australian Calligrapher, Gemma Black, on David Jones Lettering, which I had never attempted. David Jones (1895-1974) a poet and calligrapher from England, wrote a page of calligraphy as if he were painting a picture.

By David Jones

David Jones combined Latin, Greek and English. “Exit Edictum" comes from the account of Christ’s birth in St. Luke’s Gospel. Along the left side: “I am Redit Apollo” comes from Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue (selection). Jones preferred colored backgrounds and lettering in colors.

Gemma’s workshop consisted of three lessons, the first two had four exercises each. My letters were written with colored pencils and nibs. Annotating what I wrote with and wrote on was a new experience for me to record what worked and what did not.

We emailed back and forth. Gemma gave me good suggestions on my first attempts and I had hope that I could improve with more practice. Writing on a ground of white acrylic paint was a fun learning experience!

For my Houston Calligraphy Guild presentation I penned my own Exemplar (A to Z) of David Jones Letters. I did not present any of Gemma’s calligraphy since attendees were taking photos and I wanted to preserve Gemma’s copyright protection.

My calligraphy on the cover of the 8 page books I made for each person at the Houston Calligraphy Guild presentation on May 2013. It was a full house with about 60 people attending!

A more recent alphabet I wrote in my journal.

I highly recommend Gemma Black’s teaching! I was lucky to meet her in person when she taught at the Legacies Calligraphy Conference in Dallas during July 2014. We had a lovely time at The Marriott Renaissance Hotel.

Please leave a Comment if you liked learning about David Jones Lettering!