MATERIALS LIST
Canvas: 6x6 inch canvas or paper.
Acrylics: White, Black, Ultramarine Blue (or Phthalocyanine Blue), Cobalt Blue (or Lake Blue), Cadmium Yellow (any Yellow), Orange (Red with Yellow), Crimson Red ( or any Red), and Raw Sienna.
Brushes: Small round detail brush, Small flat brush, Micro or liner detail brush.
Reference: Paint from memory or follow along below. No reference included.
Start by mixing the colors Ultramarine Blue with Cobalt Blue and White. Keep it a light blue to start. Once the canvas is entirely covered, but while still wet, apply horizontal stripes of dark blue overtop the light blue canvas. Add 2-4 stripes of blue.
While your canvas is still wet, apply dabs of White paint overtop to create clouds. Keep dabs of paint thick and circular.
Artist Tip: Here’s a great technique for painting clouds. Apply a base coat overtop your canvas with the main sky color/s, then while still wet, add the white clouds overtop. This gives the clouds that fluffy, airy look. Make those clouds look even more realistic by adding highlights of white or yellow to the tops and outer edges of each cloud.
Wash out your brush and add another layer of just White paint to the tops of each cloud. Add a few highlights to the bottom outer edge of each cloud.
Let your canvas sit for at least 5-minutes to dry before moving onto this step. Once it’s tacky or dry, using just Crimson Red, create a half oval at the top right of your canvas.
Create two sectioned lines at the bottom of the hot air balloon, spaced about 1/2 inch or less from one another.
Create one large square about 1-inch below the hot air balloon. Separate that square into two sections by creating a vertical line to the left of the center of the square.
With a detail round brush and Black paint, create four lines pointing in and up towards the first line of Red. Close those four lines with two horizontal lines overtop.
Wash out your brush and go back to your Crimson Red. Create 5-vertical sections on the hot air balloon. Start from the top of your canvas and pull your curved lines down to the first horizontal line on the balloon.
Wash out your brush and fill in each section with just Orange INCLUDING the horizontal section at the opening. Not shown here in this image, but in the next image.
While your paint is still wet, grab some Crimson Red and paint two stripes overtop the two vertical (right side) end sections of orange.
Wash out your brush and do the very same with Cadmium Yellow on the three (left side) vertical sections.
Add Yellow to the front of the horizontal section at the opening. Add Crimson Red to the end of that same horizontal section.
Fill in the small inside of the balloon with Crimson Red.
Wash out your brush and fill in the basket with just Raw Sienna. While that’s still wet, apply a little Orange to the left side of the basket. Wash out your brush and add a little Yellow fire burning below the opening of the balloon.
Paint in any animal or human you would like! I added a jumping bunny rabbit using raw sienna and white.
Fill in the bottom of the basket with Black. With a little amount of Black paint on your brush, using a detail round brush, draw in two birds with two connected curved lines.
Still using Black paint and a detail round brush, add horizontal lines across the entire basket to create four sections. Make sure the lines on the left side of the basket are pointed downwards slightly at an angle.
Mix up Cadmium Yellow and White. Carefully add this color to create lines overtop the first four red sketch lines. Then, apply this same color to the first three sections of the balloon.
Add that same light yellow mixture to the tops of the clouds. Dab lightly to add highlights.
Wash out your brush and mix Crimson Red with White. Add this pink mixture to the fronts of each section on the balloon. Add pink to the middle of the section on the opening of the balloon.
With that same Pink, create a small little circle to the right of your hot air balloon. Add a small point to the bottom of that circle.
Wash out your brush and mix up Cadmium Yellow with a little Cobalt Blue. Add a second small hot air balloon below the Pink one you just made. Don’t forget to add a slight point to the bottom of it. Wash out your brush and add two small dabs of Raw Sienna below both hot air balloons.
