Acrylic paint-along · beginner

A small red sailboat with two cream-white sails on calm teal water at sunset, with the setting sun, its golden path on the water, and a violet mountain on the far shore.

Start on a plain white canvas. Paint the sky first, then each part of the scene from farthest to nearest, each straight over the one behind it. Then the main subject, texture with simple brush moves, shadows, and highlights last.

11 stepsCanvas: 14 x 11 inFocal point: The red sailboat and its reflection, right of center (about 77% across, 60% down in the frame). Light: The setting sun, low and just left of center (48.5% across, 42.5% down in the frame), behind and to the left of the boat. Lit edges face left, toward the sun.How this lesson was made

The finished painting — Where you'll end up

What you need

Tubes

Titanium white
Cadmium yellow medium (hue)
Cadmium red medium (hue)
Ultramarine blue
Burnt sienna

Brushes

1 inch flat: laying in and blending the whole skyFlat: square end, for big areas and straight edges
#8 round: filling the sunRound: pointed tip, thin or thick depending on how hard you press
3/4 inch flat: the mountainFlat: square end, for big areas and straight edges
1/2 inch flat: the shoreline stripFlat: square end, for big areas and straight edges
#6 round: short dashes near the horizonRound: pointed tip, thin or thick depending on how hard you press
Liner (#1 or #0): the mast and boomLiner: long, very thin bristles, for fine lines like twigs and grass

Also

A 14 x 11 in canvas, landscape (hang it that way). Positions in the steps are percentages across and down: each 10% is 1.4 in across and 1.1 in down.
Water jar and paper towel
Palette or paper plate for mixing

Your paints

Every paint in the lesson. You don't have to mix them all at the start: each step lists the paints it uses with their recipes, so you can mix a little as you go before it dries. Parts are by volume.

Sky violet4 parts white, 3 parts ultramarine, 1 part red
top band of the sky · First needed in step 1

Sunset pink3 parts white, 2 parts red, 1 part ultramarine
pink band between violet and orange, and the pink near the right horizon · First needed in step 1

Sunset orange1 part yellow, 1 part red, a touch of white
the orange lower sky · First needed in step 1

Sun yellow4 parts white, 3 parts yellow, 1 part red
the sun · First needed in step 2

Mountain violet3 parts ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white
the far mountain · First needed in step 3

Shore navy3 parts ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white, a touch of yellow
the thin far shoreline strip · First needed in step 3

Light teal3 parts ultramarine, 2 parts white, 1 part yellow
water near the horizon and the light ripple streaks · First needed in step 4

Deep teal3 parts ultramarine, 1 part yellow, 1 part white
the lower water and dark ripples · First needed in step 4

Golden orange3 parts yellow, 2 parts red, 2 parts white
the sun path dashes · First needed in step 6

Pale gold3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part red
the brightest dashes in the middle of the sun path · First needed in step 6

Sail white12 parts white, 2 parts burnt sienna, 1 part yellow, a touch of red
the sails and the hull's top rim · First needed in step 7

Sail shadow6 parts white, 1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of yellow
the soft blue-gray folds in the sails · First needed in step 7

Boat red1 part red, a touch of ultramarine
the hull and the red reflection · First needed in step 8

Dark red2 parts red, 1 part ultramarine
the hull's shaded bottom and right end · First needed in step 8

Mast brown1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of red, a touch of white
the mast, boom, and the mast's reflection · First needed in step 9

The steps

STEP 1 OF 11

Paint the sunset sky

The light comes from the sun, low and just left of center, behind the boat. Every highlight faces left, toward it.
Violet across the top tenth, creamy, in long side-to-side strokes edge to edge.
Sunset pink from 12% to 20% down, then Sunset orange from 22% down to about 57%, a little past the horizon line at 54%.
Add a little Sunset pink into the orange at the far right, 44% to 54% down.
Stroke back over each join while wet until the bands melt together, then stop. Below 57% stays white.

Build the depth, dark first
Value	Paint	Where
top	Sky violet	0 to 10% down
middle	Sunset pink	12 to 20% down, and a touch low on the right
bottom	Sunset orange	22% down to about 57%, brightest around the sun's spot

Paints for this step3 paints, 3 new

Sky violet new4 parts white, 3 parts ultramarine, 1 part red
Sunset pink new3 parts white, 2 parts red, 1 part ultramarine
Sunset orange new1 part yellow, 1 part red, a touch of white

Colors dry a little darker, so test each mix on the palette edge first.

The picture's sky stops right at the horizon (54%); running yours to about 57% is fine, the water covers it.

Brushes

1 inch flat

Strokes

Long horizontal blend. Pull the flat edge to edge in one level stroke, then go back over each join while it's wet.

Watch out: Don't stop the orange at the horizon: run it a little past, so the water overlaps it and no white peeks through.

Watch out: Overblending turns the bands muddy. A few strokes over each join, then stop.

Heads up, this picture is a little off: The sky in the picture stops at the horizon (54% down) instead of 58%, so it doesn't show the sky run past the horizon. Spotted while writing the text. Paint what the steps say.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Seeded render · 1 try · $0.032

Why this step, now: The farthest layer and the biggest area, run past the horizon so the water overlaps it.

Why this tool: No filter can take the mountain, boat, and path out of the finish and paint the sky behind them. Rendered from the finish, then locked (lock-steps); a throwaway tone match evened out box-shaped patches the lock left in the sky.

No diagram: A three-band gradient; the values table gives the bands.

Render 1low quality · $0.032Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.
Review round 2leftThe sky in the picture stops at the horizon (54% down) instead of 58%, so it doesn't show the sky run past the horizon. Spotted while writing the text.

STEP 2 OF 11

Paint the sun

Let the sky dry.
Center the sun 48% across and 42% down, about 3/4 inch wide. Trace a coin or bottle cap lightly first.
Fill it with Sun yellow, creamy, in small circles from the middle out.
Let it dry, then give it a second coat so no orange shows through.

Paints for this step1 paint, 1 new

Sun yellow new4 parts white, 3 parts yellow, 1 part red

Brushes

#8 round

Strokes

Small circles with the brush tip. Turn the round in small circles, keeping the outside edge smooth.

Watch out: Light over orange needs two coats; one looks patchy and that's normal.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Seeded render · 1 try · $0.031

Why this step, now: Its own small step so it can get two coats over the dry orange.

Why this tool: The sun on the sky with nothing else; no filter removes the later parts. Rendered from the finish, locked, sky tone-matched.

No diagram: A circle traced from a coin or cap.

Render 1low quality · $0.031Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.

STEP 3 OF 11

Paint the far mountain and shoreline

Let the sky dry.
Outline the mountain's top with the flat's corner: up from 45% down at the left edge to a rounded peak 12% across, 40% down, then down to the horizon at 43% across.
Fill it with Mountain violet in short horizontal strokes, creamy.
Pull a Shore navy strip from 50% to 54% down, edge to edge, under the mountain and on to the right.

Build the depth, dark first
Value	Paint	Where
dark	Shore navy	the thin strip along the horizon, 50 to 54% down
mid	Mountain violet	the whole mountain

Paints for this step2 paints, 2 new

Mountain violet new3 parts ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white
Shore navy new3 parts ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white, a touch of yellow

The mountain is far away and backlit, so it stays one flat mix with no texture.

Brushes

3/4 inch flat1/2 inch flat

Strokes

Horizontal strokes for flat ground. Keep the brush level and the strokes long, so the land lies flat.

Watch out: A tilted horizon: lay a ruler or strip of tape at 54% down and paint along it.

Watch out: Don't touch the sun; the mountain stops left of it.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Seeded render · 1 try · $0.031

Why this step, now: The farthest land, over the dry sky, before the water meets it.

Why this tool: The far land over the sky; no filter removes the water and boat. Rendered from the finish, locked with a protect box over the sun, sky tone-matched.

No diagram: One rounded hill with its peak and ends given as grid numbers, and a straight strip.

Render 1low quality · $0.031Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.

STEP 4 OF 11

Paint the teal water

Light teal, creamy, in long level strokes from the shoreline down to about 65%.
Deep teal from the bottom edge up to about 75%.
Blend where they meet, 65% to 75% down, with level strokes. No white left anywhere.

Build the depth, dark first
Value	Paint	Where
dark	Deep teal	the bottom third
light	Light teal	just under the horizon

Paints for this step2 paints, 2 new

Light teal new3 parts ultramarine, 2 parts white, 1 part yellow
Deep teal new3 parts ultramarine, 1 part yellow, 1 part white

These tubes can't make the picture's bright teal; the mixes come out a little grayer. Light teal has more white than Deep teal, so the two stay clearly different.

Brushes

1 inch flat

Strokes

Long horizontal blend. Level strokes side to side; stroke back over the join while wet.

Watch out: Slanted strokes tilt the sea. Keep the brush level.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.019

Why this step, now: Covers the rest of the canvas so no white is left before any marks go on top.

Why this tool: The finish without the path, boat, or reflection; no filter can paint the water under them. Rendered from the finish and locked.

No diagram: Two values blended with level strokes.

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.

STEP 5 OF 11

Add ripples to the water

Let the water dry. Try a few dashes on scrap paper first.
Deep teal streaks in the lower half, level, 1 to 2 inches long.
Light teal streaks over the whole water, a little whiter than in step 4 so they show: short and close near the horizon, longer and farther apart near the bottom.

Paints for this step2 paints

Light teal from step 4, mix more if it has dried3 parts ultramarine, 2 parts white, 1 part yellow
Deep teal from step 4, mix more if it has dried3 parts ultramarine, 1 part yellow, 1 part white

Brushes

1/2 inch flat

Strokes

Horizontal dashes on water. Touch the edge of the flat down and slide it sideways a little, light pressure, then lift.

Watch out: Curved or tilted dashes make the water look like it's sloping. Every ripple is level.

Watch out: Midway the painting can look unfinished and odd. That's the ugly stage; keep going.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 2 tries · $0.038

Why this step, now: One kind of mark, split from the base so the base can dry first.

Why this tool: Ripples on the water without the path or boat. The first render had bold bars the later steps didn't keep; redone softer, then locked.

No diagram: One repeated level dash; the stroke how-to says how.

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.
Review round 1redoneBold separate light-teal bars and dark-teal ovals that vanish in the next step, where the water has soft streaks like the finish.
Render 2low quality · $0.019Redo from the step review; the step is the finish minus later parts, which no filter can make.

STEP 6 OF 11

Paint the sun's path on the water

Let the water dry.
Golden orange dashes straight down from the sun: short and close at the horizon, 43% to 54% across.
Lower down, longer dashes spreading out to 30% to 64% across, with teal gaps between. Stop near the bottom edge.
Let the orange dry, then Pale gold dashes down the middle of the path, over the orange.
Add a few stray orange dashes on the left water, 8% to 23% across, 72% to 82% down.

Build the depth, dark first
Value	Paint	Where
mid	Golden orange	every dash of the path
light	Pale gold	the middle of the path, over the orange

Paints for this step2 paints, 2 new

Golden orange new3 parts yellow, 2 parts red, 2 parts white
Pale gold new3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part red

Brushes

1/2 inch flat#6 round

Strokes

Horizontal dashes on water. Creamy paint, light touch, short level slides with gaps between.

Watch out: A solid stripe: leave teal showing between the dashes.

Heads up, this picture is a little off: The plan held the pale gold middle for the last step, but the sun-path picture already shows pale gold in the middle of the path. Spotted while writing the text. Paint what the steps say.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.019

Why this step, now: Sits on top of the ripples and lines up with the sun.

Why this tool: The path's dashes sit over water that isn't in any filter's reach; rendered from the finish and locked.

No diagram: The same dash, with the column's widths as grid numbers.

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.
Review round 2leftThe plan held the pale gold middle for the last step, but the sun-path picture already shows pale gold in the middle of the path. Spotted while writing the text.

STEP 7 OF 11

Paint the two sails

Let the sky dry. Dot the three corners of each sail, then build them as in the diagram.
Left sail: tip 80% across and 30% down, base along 57% down from 73% to 81% across.
Right sail: tip 81% across, 27% down; base along 58% down from 81% to 90% across.
Two coats of Sail white, drying between.
Once the white is dry, two or three thin Sail shadow strokes down the middle of each sail with the #6 round, top to bottom.

Build the depth, dark first
Value	Paint	Where
mid	Sail shadow	soft folds down the middle of each sail
light	Sail white	the rest of both sails, brightest at the outer edges

Paints for this step2 paints, 2 new

Sail white new12 parts white, 2 parts burnt sienna, 1 part yellow, a touch of red
Sail shadow new6 parts white, 1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of yellow

Light over orange needs two or three thin coats.

Brushes

1/2 inch flat#6 round

Strokes

Building from pieces. Pull each straight edge with the flat on its edge, then fill inside with downward strokes.

Watch out: Sails too short or too wide: mark the three corners of each with dots first.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.019 Diagram · free

Why this step, now: The boat's back pieces, over the sky and shoreline.

Why this tool: The sails alone, before the hull and mast; rendered from the finish and locked.

Why a diagram: A shaped object appearing whole in one step, two triangles of different heights meeting on one line.

How it broke the shape down: Dot the three corners of each sail, then the left (shorter, thinner) triangle, then the right (taller, wider) one, then the fold strokes once dry, the way a teacher would start from the corners.

Checked against the picture: Corners measured on the finish grid and mapped to the box at the boat's real proportions; tips at 30% and 27% down, bases at 57% and 58%.

Where this came from: beginner check, and the step review (6b) found the text pointing at a diagram that didn't exist yet

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.

Build the two sails from triangles

1 Dot the corners

2 Left sail: a tall thin triangle

3 Right sail: taller and wider

4 Once dry, soft folds down the middle

Dashed outline: what to paint in that picture. Arrows: which way to move the brush.

STEP 8 OF 11

Paint the red hull

Let the sails dry. Shape the hull as in the diagram, about 3 inches long, 72% to 93% across.
Pull the top edge with the flat's edge, from the raised left point (57% down) sloping down to 60% at the right end.
Fill with Boat red in horizontal strokes, the bottom curving at about 63% down.
Dark red along the bottom and the right end, blended in while wet.

Build the depth, dark first
Value	Paint	Where
dark	Dark red	along the bottom and the right end
mid	Boat red	the rest of the hull

Paints for this step2 paints, 2 new

Boat red new1 part red, a touch of ultramarine
Dark red new2 parts red, 1 part ultramarine

Red covers thinly; give it a second coat if the teal shows through.

Brushes

1/2 inch flat#6 round

Strokes

Thick-to-thin. Press the flat on its edge for the top line, then fill below with level strokes.

Watch out: A flat-topped box: the left end rises to a point and the top slopes down to the right.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.019 Diagram · free

Why this step, now: Overlaps the sails' base, so it goes after them.

Why this tool: The hull's render also shrank the main sail; the lock put the sails back from the step before. Rendered from the finish, locked with a protect box over the sails.

Why a diagram: The hull's raised left point and sloped top were misread in an earlier sailboat run, and a flat box is the likely beginner mistake.

How it broke the shape down: One top-edge line from the raised left tip down to the right, then the fill to a curved bottom, then the dark red band, with the sails shown as done.

Checked against the picture: The top edge runs from 57.5% to 59.5% down and the bottom curves at about 63%, as in the step picture.

Where this came from: beginner check

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.
Review round 1left: the sails lie outside the hull's regions and a protect box covers their base, so lock-steps put them back from the sails step for freeThe sails changed shape in this step: the main sail came out narrower and shorter than in the sails step, the mast-boom step, and the finish.

Shape the hull

1 Sails done; pull the top edge

2 Fill down to a curved bottom

3 Dark red along the bottom and right end

Dashed outline: what to paint in that picture. Arrows: which way to move the brush.

STEP 9 OF 11

Paint the mast and boom

Let the sails and hull dry. Test a line on scrap paper first.
Mast brown thinned like ink, one steady line at 81% across from 26% down to the hull's top at 58%.
The boom: a thin line along the right sail's base, 81% to 91% across at 58% down.

Paints for this step1 paint, 1 new

Mast brown new1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of red, a touch of white

Brushes

Liner (#1 or #0)

Strokes

Liner work. Brush upright, light steady pressure, reload often.

Watch out: A leaning mast: hold a ruler upright against the canvas and paint along it.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.019

Why this step, now: Thin liner lines over the dry sails and hull, last on the boat.

Why this tool: Thin lines over the sails; rendered from the finish and locked with a protect box over the hull.

No diagram: Two straight lines with their ends given.

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.

STEP 10 OF 11

Paint the boat's reflection

Let the water dry.
Short horizontal Boat red dashes right under the hull, 63% to 70% down, 71% to 94% across.
Sail white dashes below them to 93% down, narrowing from 74%-89% across to 80%-84%, with teal gaps.
Let the dashes dry, then a wavy Mast brown line down the middle, 81% across, with the liner.

Paints for this step3 paints

Boat red from step 8, mix more if it has dried1 part red, a touch of ultramarine
Sail white from step 7, mix more if it has dried12 parts white, 2 parts burnt sienna, 1 part yellow, a touch of red
Mast brown from step 9, mix more if it has dried1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of red, a touch of white

Brushes

#6 roundLiner (#1 or #0)

Strokes

Horizontal dashes on water. Short level slides with gaps; over dry water only.

Liner work. Wiggle the liner gently side to side as you pull down.

Watch out: A solid mirror image: keep it broken into level dashes.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.019

Why this step, now: Mirrors the finished boat, so it waits until the boat is done.

Why this tool: The reflection over the water; rendered from the finish and locked with a protect box over the hull.

No diagram: Dashes in a narrowing column, with its widths given.

Render 1low quality · $0.019Each step is the finish with later parts not painted yet; no filter can remove the later parts, and compositing (#8) isn't built. Throwaway inpainting can't invent the sky and water hidden under the mountain, boat, and path.

STEP 11 OF 11

Add the brightest highlights

Let everything dry.
A few more Pale gold dashes in the middle of the sun path, from the horizon down to about 80%, over the earlier gold.
A thin Sail white line along the hull's top edge with the liner.

Paints for this step2 paints

Pale gold from step 6, mix more if it has dried3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part red
Sail white from step 7, mix more if it has dried12 parts white, 2 parts burnt sienna, 1 part yellow, a touch of red

Brushes

#6 roundLiner (#1 or #0)

Strokes

Horizontal dashes on water. Small level dashes, a light touch.

Liner work. Paint thinned like ink, one steady pass.

Watch out: Covering the whole path in pale gold: keep it to the middle, with orange on both sides.

Drying: About 10 minutes between steps (a hair dryer on low speeds it up). An hour after the last step before handling.

How this picture was made Render · 1 try · $0.067

Why this step, now: The brightest touches go last.

Why this tool: The last step is the finished painting itself (rendered at high quality).

No diagram: A few dashes and one thin line.

Render 1high quality · $0.067No filter turns a reference into an acrylic painting on canvas; every step copies from the finish, so it is rendered at high quality.

Behind the easel

How this lesson was made

You don't need any of this to paint. It's for the curious: how Claude read your photo, picked a technique, and chose between free filters and paid image renders for every picture above.

notes from the studio

Filterfree, built in

ReferenceValue studyPalette of the photoPalette of the finishMeasuring grid

Throwaway filterfree, written for this photo

1 2 3

Seeded renderpaid, started from a filter

1 2 3

Renderpaid, image model

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Numbers are steps. A dashed, struck-through number was tried on that rung first and didn't hold up. Claude starts at the top and pays for a render only when nothing free will do.

How Claude read your photosubject, light, layers

Before starting

Subject: A red sailboat on teal water at sunset, with the sun, its path, and a far violet mountain.

Found in the image: just the picture

Done: none

Why: No bars, borders, or page around it.

Fitted to your canvas

Canvas: 14 x 11 in, landscape (an 11x14 hung sideways, following the 3:2 picture)

Done: crop

Left out: the left 7.5% (the foot of the mountain) and the right 7.5% (open water and sky right of the boat)

Why: Cropping to 14:11 loses 15% and keeps the boat, reflection, sun, and path whole. fit-canvas split the cut evenly, 7.5% off each side.

Beginner version

What made it too busy: No tiny separate things, no textures made of hundreds of items, no detail inside big shapes beyond dashes, and about 7 parts (under the budget of 8).

Why: Already beginner-sized.

Already a simple painting: a sunset sky in three bands, one far mountain, flat teal water, a golden sun path, and one small red sailboat with its reflection. The hard parts for a beginner are a clean gradient, keeping the water level, and getting the boat's proportions right; the rest is repeated dashes.

Subject: A small red sailboat with two cream-white sails on calm teal water at sunset, with the setting sun, its golden path on the water, and a violet mountain on the far shore.
Focal point: The red sailboat and its reflection, right of center (about 77% across, 60% down in the frame).
Light: The setting sun, low and just left of center (48.5% across, 42.5% down in the frame), behind and to the left of the boat. Lit edges face left, toward the sun.

What it saw, back to front

sunset sky gradient
sun
far mountain and shoreline
teal water
water ripples
sun path on the water
sails
hull
mast and boom
boat reflection
brightest highlights

Why this techniquePaint along, back to front

The owner named acrylic-paint-along-beginner.

ChosenPaint along, back to frontStart on a plain white canvas. Paint the sky first, then each part of the scene from farthest to nearest, each straight over the one behind it. Then the main subject, texture with simple brush moves, shadows, and highlights last.

A back-to-front landscape with a sky, far land, water, and one subject on top is exactly what the paint-along technique teaches.

Passed onBlock in, then build up (acrylic-block-in-beginner)

Not chosen: the owner named the technique.

How the paint recipes were worked out15 paints, free

Paint doesn't mix like light on a screen: blue and yellow make green, not gray. So the recipes come from a pigment mixing model (Mixbox), not a guess. For each paint it tried every simple recipe from your tubes, up to three colors plus white, and kept the one that lands closest to the color in the painting. Delta E is how far off it lands: under 2 is hard to see, under 5 is close, and over 8 means these tubes can't quite make it.

Sky violet Delta E 5.0
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 4 parts white, 3 parts ultramarine, 1 part red
Written by eye first: 4 parts white, 2 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part red
Sunset pink Delta E 6.1
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts white, 2 parts red, 1 part ultramarine
Written by eye first: 4 parts white, 2 parts red, a touch of blue
Sunset orange Delta E 1.7
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 1 part yellow, 1 part red, a touch of white
Written by eye first: 3 parts yellow, 2 parts red, a little white
Sun yellow Delta E 1.2
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 4 parts white, 3 parts yellow, 1 part red
Written by eye first: 4 parts white, 2 parts yellow, a touch of red
Mountain violet Delta E 3.2
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white
Written by eye first: 2 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part red, 1 part white
Shore navy Delta E 3.3
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white, a touch of yellow
Written by eye first: 3 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part burnt sienna, 1 part white
Light teal Delta E 4.6
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts ultramarine, 2 parts white, 1 part yellow
Written by eye first: 3 parts white, 2 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part yellow
Deep teal Delta E 5.9
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts ultramarine, 1 part yellow, 1 part white
Written by eye first: 3 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part yellow, 1 part white, a touch of burnt sienna
Golden orange Delta E 1.5
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts yellow, 2 parts red, 2 parts white
Written by eye first: 3 parts yellow, 1 part red
Pale gold Delta E 1.8
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part red
Written by eye first: 3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, a touch of red
Sail white Delta E 1.0
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 12 parts white, 2 parts burnt sienna, 1 part yellow, a touch of red
Written by eye first: white with a touch of yellow and a tiny touch of burnt sienna
Sail shadow Delta E 2.9
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 6 parts white, 1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of yellow
Written by eye first: 6 parts white, 1 part ultramarine blue, a touch of burnt sienna
Boat red Delta E 5.7
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 1 part red, a touch of ultramarine
Written by eye first: red with a touch of burnt sienna
Dark red Delta E 6.8
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 2 parts red, 1 part ultramarine
Written by eye first: 2 parts red, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of blue
Mast brown Delta E 2.0
in the paintingthe recipe mixed
Mixer: 1 part ultramarine, 1 part burnt sienna, a touch of red, a touch of white
Written by eye first: 2 parts burnt sienna, 1 part ultramarine blue

Furthest off: Delta E 6.8. Real tubes vary by brand, so mix, compare with the step picture, and nudge.

Why the steps go in this order11 steps

Back to front: sky, sun, far land, water, ripples, sun path, then the boat from back to front (sails, hull over their base, then the thin mast and boom over both), the reflection under it, and the brightest touches last.

1. Paint the sunset sky
The farthest layer and the biggest area, run past the horizon so the water overlaps it.
2. Paint the sun
Its own small step so it can get two coats over the dry orange.
3. Paint the far mountain and shoreline
The farthest land, over the dry sky, before the water meets it.
4. Paint the teal water
Covers the rest of the canvas so no white is left before any marks go on top.
5. Add ripples to the water
One kind of mark, split from the base so the base can dry first.
6. Paint the sun's path on the water
Sits on top of the ripples and lines up with the sun.
7. Paint the two sails
The boat's back pieces, over the sky and shoreline.
8. Paint the red hull
Overlaps the sails' base, so it goes after them.
9. Paint the mast and boom
Thin liner lines over the dry sails and hull, last on the boat.
10. Paint the boat's reflection
Mirrors the finished boat, so it waits until the boat is done.
11. Add the brightest highlights
The brightest touches go last.

Filters it tried8 free looks

simplify filter output — Do the big shapes read as a few flat patches? Clean shapes but the mast faded and the sun path blurred.

value-study filter output — Where the darks and lights sit. Darks: mountain, shoreline, deep water, hull. Lights: sun, path, sails.

palette filter output — Mixing targets. Orange, two teals, pink, violet, and a cream.

grid filter output — Measure every position for looks_like and regions. Horizon at 54%, sun center 48.5% across and 42.5% down, boat 68 to 87% across.

fit-canvas filter output — The red sailboat and its reflection are the subject, with the setting sun and its glowing path on the water to its left; the boat, its reflection, the sun, and the sun path must stay whole. The mountain on the left and open water can lose a little.

Throwaway filters it wrotesmall scripts for this photo only

keptfilters/tone_match.py

For: Box-shaped patches the lock's backward pass left in the sky and water: inside later steps' boxes each step keeps its own render, whose shade differs from the finish. (step 1, step 2, step 3)

What happened: Try 1 (low-frequency color match to the finish) removed the sky patches but pulled faint ghosts of the reflection and sun path into the bare water of earlier steps. Try 2 (excluding areas near big differences, clamped) left dark wedges in the water. Kept try 1 above the horizon only, the raw renders below; faint straight-edged tone steps remain in the water of steps 5 to 9.

2 of 2 tries used

Where Claude drew diagrams2 steps, free

The sails and hull are shaped objects whose proportions decide whether the boat looks right, so both got construction diagrams; everything else is a gradient, a flat shape, or a repeated level dash.

Step 7: Paint the two sails beginner check, and the step review (6b) found the text pointing at a diagram that didn't exist yet
Noticed: A shaped object appearing whole in one step, two triangles of different heights meeting on one line.
Pieces: Dot the three corners of each sail, then the left (shorter, thinner) triangle, then the right (taller, wider) one, then the fold strokes once dry, the way a teacher would start from the corners.
Step 8: Paint the red hull beginner check
Noticed: The hull's raised left point and sloped top were misread in an earlier sailboat run, and a flat box is the likely beginner mistake.
Pieces: One top-edge line from the raised left tip down to the right, then the fill to a curved bottom, then the dark red band, with the sails shown as done.

Looked at and left without one

Step 1: A three-band gradient; the values table gives the bands.
Step 2: A circle traced from a coin or cap.
Step 3: One rounded hill with its peak and ends given as grid numbers, and a straight strip.
Step 4: Two values blended with level strokes.
Step 5: One repeated level dash; the stroke how-to says how.
Step 6: The same dash, with the column's widths as grid numbers.
Step 9: Two straight lines with their ends given.
Step 10: Dashes in a narrowing column, with its widths given.
Step 11: A few dashes and one thin line.

What the reviewer caught17 notes

A second Claude, with fresh eyes and none of this reasoning, compared each picture with its neighbors and the finish. It gets two rounds of fixes, then stops; anything still off is flagged on its step. A third checked each step's words against a measured map of what the picture changed, asking whether a beginner following them would get there.

Round 1 Step 5: Bold separate light-teal bars and dark-teal ovals that vanish in the next step, where the water has soft streaks like the finish. (redone)
Round 1 Step 8: The sails changed shape in this step: the main sail came out narrower and shorter than in the sails step, the mast-boom step, and the finish. (left: the sails lie outside the hull's regions and a protect box covers their base, so lock-steps put them back from the sails step for free)
Round 2 Step 1: The sky in the picture stops at the horizon (54% down) instead of 58%, so it doesn't show the sky run past the horizon. Spotted while writing the text. (left)
Round 2 Step 6: The plan held the pale gold middle for the last step, but the sun-path picture already shows pale gold in the middle of the path. Spotted while writing the text. (left)
Text check: flat Step 4: Light teal and Deep teal had the same computed recipe, so the light-to-deep sea couldn't come out of the text. (fixed: moved Light teal's sample to a lighter streak; mix now gives 3 ultramarine, 2 white, 1 yellow vs 3 ultramarine, 1 yellow, 1 white, and the note says Light teal has more white)
Text check: wrong_result Step 5: With one shared recipe the ripple streaks would vanish into the water. (fixed)
Text check: drift Step 5: A straight-edged warm patch on the left water (canvas x 5-24, y 54-66) that no instruction paints. (left)
Text check: diagram Step 5: Proposed a dash build-up diagram. (skipped: one repeated level dash; the stroke how-to and the picture show it)
Text check: layering Step 6: Pale gold went over fresh orange dashes with no wait. (fixed)
Text check: drift Step 6: Faint lighter teal columns with straight edges either side of the path (canvas x 37-42 and 58-62). (left)
Text check: diagram Step 6: Proposed a dash build-up diagram. (skipped: one repeated dash with the widths given as grid numbers)
Text check: vague Step 7: Pointed at a diagram that didn't exist; the shadow strokes had no brush, count, or timing. (fixed)
Text check: diagram Step 7: Proposed corners-then-pieces sail diagram. (diagram)
Text check: vague Step 8: Pointed at a diagram that didn't exist. (fixed)
Text check: diagram Step 8: Proposed hull outline diagram. (diagram)
Text check: layering Step 10: The liner mast line crossed fresh dashes with no wait. (fixed)
Text check: diagram Step 10: Proposed a reflection build-up diagram. (skipped: the same dash as the sun path, with widths in the text)

The receipt$0.31 in image renders

1. Paint the sunset sky$0.032

low quality

2. Paint the sun$0.031

low quality

3. Paint the far mountain and shoreline$0.031

low quality

4. Paint the teal water$0.019

low quality

5. Add ripples to the water$0.019

low quality

5. Add ripples to the water$0.019

low quality

6. Paint the sun's path on the water$0.019

low quality

7. Paint the two sails$0.019

low quality

8. Paint the red hull$0.019

low quality

9. Paint the mast and boom$0.019

low quality

10. Paint the boat's reflection$0.019

low quality

11. Add the brightest highlights$0.067

high quality

Filters (9)$0

Diagrams (2)$0

Planning, review, writing$0*

Total, 12 renders$0.31

Gesso POC 0.21.0 (5295da7) on 2026-11-11

thanks for painting!

* Claude did this in Claude Code on a subscription, so there was no API charge.

What Claude would do differentlyfor the next lesson

lock-steps (tool): the backward pass copies the finish wherever no later step paints, but inside later steps' boxes each step keeps its own render, so the render's slightly different sky or water shade shows as straight-edged rectangles (the sails' box in the sky of steps 1-2, the path and reflection boxes in the water of steps 5-9). The 6b reviewer flagged two of them as drift. A low-frequency color match of each render to the finish before locking fixed the sky here (filters/tone_match.py, try 1), but bled object ghosts into bare water; the tool could match tones only where both show the same background, or feather the backward pass far wider than 4 px.
mix (tool): Light teal and Deep teal both solved to the same recipe (3 ultramarine, 1 yellow, 1 white) because neither teal is reachable and both clamp to the nearest mix. Nothing warned about two paints sharing a recipe; the 6b reviewer caught it. Moving Light teal's sample spot to a lighter streak separated them. mix could flag paints whose recipes come out identical.
Renders stop the sky at the horizon even when looks_like asks for a straight edge 4% below it (58% asked, 54% painted). The text now says to run past it; this is the third run with the same failure.
Every step render after the sun path copied the path's pale gold middle from the finish, so a highlights step can't hold back colors the finish shows in an area an earlier step paints. Plan highlights only for marks that sit where no earlier step paints, or accept they show early.
The research has no stroke result for the sun-path and reflection dashes beyond the YAML's 'Horizontal dashes on water'; nothing on the order of a reflection (colors, then the liner line once dry).
fit-canvas now splits a crop evenly when the subject fits either way, and uses the photo itself as the frame when its shape matches, so no band render was needed (both learned on the last sailboat run).