DIY Coastal Painting

I've been in a very DIY mood lately (if you haven't checked out my last post on creating a festive fall wreath click here) and this time I'm creating an acrylic coastal painting. I came across a picture on pinterest of a bedroom with a painting that was screaming for me to recreate it so naturally that's what I had to do. The colors were just stunning. 

What you'll need:

1. Any size canvas you want (regular or gallery wrapped)
2. Smooth paint brushes with a thick tip so the bristles won't come off in the paint
3. A spray bottle with water in it (refill an empty cleaner bottle if you need one)
4. Old towel
5. Acrylic and watercolor paint (I use ones I get from Michaels -- artists loft and craftsmart brands -- and the colors I used were prussian blue, peacock blue, sand, turquoise, white and viridian) along with a sealer of some sort or a satin varnish
6. Paper plate 
7. Cup of water

Luckily for me I had an 18x24" gallery wrapped canvas in my car and all the paint colors and brushes in my art bin. The only downfall is not having my easel set up so I used an old towel under the canvas and leaned the canvas against the wall on top of some paper towel taped to the wall -- so this is what you can do if you don't have an easel set up either. Plus, I did a water dripping technique so you need something under the canvas to not make a mess either way. Or if you have a space outside in the grass to paint then that works, too!

First, flip the canvas vertical so the water drips that way. Squeeze the paint onto a paper plate if you don't have a palette. Then, spray the canvas with water to start the dripping technique. Then start with any color you like -- I started with the prussian blue to the left -- the paint will start dripping and continue to spray with water to create desired look. Continue this process for each color and don't be afraid to blend the colors a little so they fade into each other --just make sure you're either using different paint brushes or dipping them in water so it keeps them from mixing too much. Do one layer and then let it dry. The key is layers, layers and more layers of paint when doing this technique. After it's dry flip the canvas -- so it's still vertical but the other way. Continue by spraying water again and adding paint. Mix white in some spots in the sand and turquoise so you get variations in color. Continue to spray with water to create desired look. Once dried your painting should look something like this (before sealer which is why it may look a little dull)...

Once sealed and put in some very appealing natural light your painting should look more like this...

I really love the way this came out not to mention this one is for sale -- but if you're up for it try to DIY and I'd love to see it once it's done! Happy painting :)

Xo,