Canvas · Easy · about 35 min
Dune horizon
Three curves, a big ochre sun and a lot of empty space. The calm one, and the one that suits a hallway.
Step 1 of 6
Cream the whole canvas
One even coat, edges included — a bare white edge is what makes a canvas look unfinished on a wall.
Colours you’ll need
- Cream
- Mustard ochre
- Terracotta
- Plum
- Ink
All 6 steps as a list
1. Cream the whole canvas
One even coat, edges included — a bare white edge is what makes a canvas look unfinished on a wall.
2. The sun
A large ochre circle in the upper half, off centre. Bigger than feels sensible: about a third of the width.
Paint it before the dunes. Sand painted over the bottom of the sun is what makes it sit behind them.
3. Far dune
Terracotta, one long curve from edge to edge crossing the bottom of the sun, filled in solid beneath.
4. Near dune
Plum across the bottom, a deeper curve than the first, rising on the opposite side.
The two curves should lean opposite ways. Two curves the same way reads as one thick stripe.
5. One fine line
Ink, fine liner, a single line tracing just above the terracotta curve. It sharpens everything and takes ten seconds.
6. Speckle and stop
A scatter of tiny ink dots in the sand at the bottom. Then stop — this design is carried by the empty space, and the urge to fill it is the enemy.