Painting a Starry Sky

As I prepared to respond to the emails that I've received from artists who asked how I painted the sky in the painting "Wild Song," I thought that it may be of interest to you as well, so I have turned it into our first lesson of 2015 - can you believe it!

Here is the painting:

Materials used:

• a full sheet (22 x 30") 300# Arches cold press paper.
• Daniel Smith paints: Permanent Rose, Quinacridone Magenta, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Green, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue Red Shade
• Masking Fluid
• Toothbrush and different size brushes for spattering masking fluid. 

I wanted to create a very dark sky that had multiple levels of color and the illusion of the Milky Way. At a distance it would look almost black, but as you look closer you can see the variations of warm and cool dark values.

NOTE:   Before using any Masking fluid, remember to have a dish of diluted dishwater detergent or a small bar of soap available so that you can dip or rub your toothbrush or brush into it before dipping into the masking fluid. As you work with the masking fluid, your brush may get clogged; be sure to rinse it well and then dip again and continue masking or spattering. When you are finished, clean the brush thoroughly in soapy water. I keep some brushes just for using with masking fluid. It's a good idea to practice on a piece of paper before spattering on your painting as there is a lot of variety in how the spatter will look, depending on how the size of the brush, and whether you have water on your brush along with the masking fluid, as well as how high you hold the brush over the paper.

  

I want to be clear about the process of masking, painting and removing masking for this kind of effect. You could remove the masking after each new color, OR you could continue to mask and paint in layers, not removing the masking until the very end. It all depends on what you want to achieve. There is only one way to find out, and that is to do it! If you were to do this, I think you would want to remove the masking after three or four layers of masking and paint. Then you could continue if you wanted to add more paint. 

STEP 1

• I masked out the coyote shapes and then spattered Masking Fluid on the dry paper. First I used a toothbrush in order to get many very small spatters. Then I put the masking on a brush and spattered larger droplets of masking fluid.

• Dry the masking completely. I don't use a hair dryer, just let it dry naturally.
  
   
  STEP 2
    
  Next, I dampened some areas of the paper and dropped in dark valued mixtures of Permanent Rose and then Quinacridone Magenta, as in this photo. Soften the edges so there are no hard lines and leave the paint to dry completely.  
  
  
  • Next, I spattered Masking Fluid again. First I used a toothbrush in order to get many very small spatters. Then I put the masking on a brush and spattered larger droplets of masking fluid.
  • I removed the masking.
  
  
  • Dry the masking completely.
  • STEP 3
  • • Again, dampen some other areas of the paper next to the rose and magenta, overlapping the edges slightly and drop in darker values of the rose and magenta. Add alizarin crimson to add another variety of dark red. Try to keep some of each color "pure" so that they do not just all mix together at this stage. Also keep the values dark so that you don't have to add more layers than necessary.
    
    
    STEP 4
    • Dry completely, remove the masking, and spatter again. Be sure to change "tools" to get different size spatters, otherwise it can start to look monotonous.
     

    Here you can see some of the underlying colors of the layers in the stars. You can also see that I painted some of the large shapes that had been masked with orange as I thought they looked too white.

    STEP 5  
  • Continue to repeat these steps using the ultramarine blue and phthalo blue and phthalo green. Remove the spatter after each new color has been added and dried, mask again and then apply more color until you are happy with it.
  • When you are satisfied with the value and colors of the sky, let it dry completely and then remove the masking fluid
  •  
    Here you can see the levels of color under the stars. I did not completely cover the different colors as I applied new layers. 
    STEP 6
  • If you think it is not dark enough, mix a "black" with phthalo green, alizarin crimson and phthalo blue, and add to the sky. You may not need to cover the entire area. If you are adding this dark mixture to some areas, be sure to soften the edges with a damp (not wet) brush so that there are no hard lines.
  STEP 7 
  
  
  I wanted to include the moon, but did not want it to be a cleanly cut out shape on the starry sky, so I cut out a stencil of a circle and as the painting and spattering of the sky progressed, I lifted out the moon shape from dry paper with a damp brush.  
     
  As I added additional paint to the sky, I continued to lift small sections of the moon, leaving some residual color as well as adding color where I wanted a deeper value. I liked the way the moon floated in the sky, seeming to be part of it.
  
  
  
  • STEP 7
    
    
    I spent time looking at the patterns of stars to see where I thought some lights should be made darker, or new color should be added to some of those light shapes. I used accents of cerulean blue and cobalt blue teal as well as rose to complete the stars.
    
    
    To re-cap, the process is:
  • Spatter masking fluid and let it dry.
  • Add paint and dry.
  • Remove masking fluid.
  • Add a new color and let it dry.
  • Remove masking.
  • Spatter masking again and let it dry.
  • Repeat as many times as needed to get value and pattern of spattering that you want.
  • Adjust color and value of stars as needed to complete the effect.
  • If you want to include a moon, see the comments in step 6.
  •  
  Have fun! And see you again very soon.
  Wishing you a New Year filled with blessings.
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