This past February, I had the privilege of leaving the upstate New York tundra for the tropical Florida--namely, Orlando. On the last night of this vacation, my mom and I ventured over to Disney Springs for a relaxed evening. I took the picture below, and it's been the lock screen on my phone ever since. Of course it's always been in the back of my mind to paint it too, despite my minimal painting talent. Here was my step-by-step process!
Step One: Base Coat
Ever since my mind conceived the idea to paint this, I envisioned a background with white edges--a vignette, if you will.
Step Two: Shades of Blue
Loving the streaky look, I added some darker strokes of blue and a few touches of white.
Step Three: Dashes of pink and purple
I forgot to take separate pictures, but here was my first go-around at getting the sky right. Blending was hard! And so was mixing just the right shade I wanted.
Step Four: A chalky sketch
Okay, drawing is also not my strong suit, but I was super proud of the sketch I came up with. Knowing I have no where near enough skill to include all the nuanced details in the original picture, I confidently decided on an abstract approach.
Step Five: A dab more blush
Unsatisfied with the pink portion of the sky (a little more dull than I wanted), I added some peachy highlights.
Step Six: The blurry buildings
I was so entranced with shading here that I forgot to take a few more in-between pictures. Being abstract and effortless is a lot harder than it looks. You have to manage not only the strokes, but the blending and the consistency. Watered-down paint blends better, but it isn't as vibrant. Plus, it's less predictable--it may not land exactly where you want.
The hot air balloon, however, I gave hardly any attention. I filled it mostly with blue, smeared red and brown together for a maroonish shade, and plopped it on top of the blue. It kind of looks like a marble, doesn't it?
Step Seven: A new perspective
I know the previous picture looks finished, but I couldn't help but obsess over the top window of the building on the right. I don't know how I missed that the perspective was off when I painted it the first time around, but I resolved to fix it. I like how it turned out, despite my slight obsessiveness!
The most important part, however, was making the decision to put the paint brush down--to be satisfied with my work despite the imperfections.
Deep, I know.
