Easy Fireworks Over Water Painting
I love all things 4th of July! This year will be a little different, but I have big plans to sit on my porch and spend time with my family. I thought I would share this fun video painting tutorial I made of Fireworks Over Water that would make an excellent activity with the kids or to paint yourself. This painting is great for Independence Day and New Years’ too!
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Create A Dark Background
The first thing you want to do is paint a dark background. This will make the fireworks pop off the page! I use a 1inch flat brush with black and a few dark blue paints to blend a quick night sky.
In this painting, the fireworks will reflect off the water, create a horizon line, and blend deep blue water below.
If you are painting with kids, you could start with a piece of black card stock. This Fireworks Over Water painting has a similar background to the Tropical Sunset painting tutorial for kids I shared a few weeks ago! Check it out HERE and get all my tips for painting with kids! We even learn a little about Horizon Line!
Painting Fireworks
There are so many different types of fireworks to choose from. Experiment with all the burst shapes and pick your favorites. I like the ones that have a large burst that kind of twinkle and fall.
To paint a firework, use a fine, round brush to make a tiny dot to represent the center. Pull out a couple of tails starting from the same point that explode as big as you desired. Layer in as many stokes and colors as you want. Then, add some bright highlights to lighten-up the middles a little.
Create a Reflection
Before you move from one burst to the next, use the leftover paint on the brush to paint a short trail shooting up from the horizon. Then, sweep a few light strokes across the water to create a reflection.
Make your fireworks different sizes and shapes. Have some of them with tails that aren’t connected and more spread out and layered over the others.
Adds some Flare
For some extra sparkle and shine, add glitter! This first technique will only work if your paint is still wet. I went over all my fireworks to add just a little more highlighting and then sprinkled glitter right over the top! Make sure to have something under your painting to catch all the loose glitter before starting. I used a cookie sheet.
If you want to add even more luster, grab some glitter paint! Folk Art Extreme Glitter in Hologram is one of my favorites. I paint it in the water and the colorful night sky. Glitter makes everything better.
If you haven’t already, join my free FB painting group! This is a community where you can share your paintings and catch all my latest tutorials live!
Watch and Learn How to Paint Fireworks over water!
This painting is so enjoyable to create because you can use so many bright colors, and there is no wrong way to mix them! I used a huge variety of colors. Fill your night sky with as many Fireworks as you want. This show of Fireworks over water is the Grand Finale!
Have a fun and safe 4th of July!
Stay Creative
