Join me for this lovely Bible journaling watercolor sunset tutorial, as we journal on Psalm 113, which is all about praising God!
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I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing that inspires me to praise God quite like a beautiful sunset!
There’s just something magical about seeing a unique sunset…the way the colors blend together, is different every day. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen the same sunset twice! And oh boy, I’ve seen some gorgeous ones.
So, for this Bible verse art on Psalm 113, which is all about praising the Lord, of course I had to make it a sunset.
I searched Google images to find a pretty sunset picture, and was most inspired by those sunsets that are fading into twilight… you know, when darkness creeps in, the stars are becoming visible, and you can still see the vivid colors of the sunset on the horizon?
SO gorgeous!
Bible Journaling Watercolor Sunset Tutorial
That sunset-fading-into-twilight look is what I aimed for, in creating this Bible journaling watercolor sunset tutorial. And you can totally do your own watercolor sunset, even if you’re a beginner.
A sunset (or, sunrise!) is one of the easiest watercolor Bible journaling ideas you could try, because it’s hard to mess it up. You’re not drawing anything (like flowers, animals, etc.); all you’re doing is blending colors.
So, how DO you use watercolors in Bible journaling? As I explain in the video, you’ll want to start by prepping your Bible page with gesso first, to protect and strengthen the paper so it won’t buckle or tear when you apply the paint. (Unless you’re using an Illustrating Bible, in which case you’ll probably be fine without gesso).
Other than that, the most important thing to remember for how to use watercolors in Bible journaling, is to start with a light (watered down) wash of color first, and then build on that foundation. With watercolors, you always want to work from light to dark. Because once you get a dark/saturated color on the page, you can’t go back to light again. (Unlike other types of paint, which you can simply paint over with white).
You’ll also need to be careful to not let the watercolors drip down into the center (binding) of your Bible. Check out minute 01:55 in the video, where I accidentally let a drip go down and had to grab a paper towel and soak it up quickly! You can always dab your brush on a paper towel if it’s too wet, before painting on the page, to prevent this from happening.
Watercolors aside, I also used a marker spritzer and white paint pen to create some stars in the dark blue sky! Marker spritzers are one of the best Bible journaling supplies, because you can produce such unique spray effects with them. Very cool.
And finally, I used some awesome Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps for the “praise the Lord” and the mountain range silhouette at the bottom of the page.
SUPPLIES:
Here are the supplies you’ll need, to create your own Bible journaling watercolor sunset page:
- Watercolor paints of your choice (I used Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolors: alizarin crimson hue (red), cadmium yellow hue, permanent rose (pink), cobalt blue, and also a little bit of phthalo green to make the blue sky darker)
- Paintbrushes
- Marker spritzer + Uni Posca white paint pen (to create the stars)
- Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps ‘Women of Praise’ clear stamp set
- Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps ‘Landscape Silhouettes’ clear stamp set
- Black ink pad, like VersaColor or Ranger Archival Ink
- Black acrylic paint (I used Folk Art brand) + Golden acrylic glazing liquid
- Gel pens (mine are the Color Technik glitter gel pens)
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
If you want to re-create this watercolor sunset Bible art exactly as I did, these are the steps you’ll want to follow. Of course, I encourage you to get creative and use whatever Bible journaling techniques you like!
- First things first: If you’re using a normal journaling Bible with thin paper, be sure and apply gesso to your page first. (But if you’re using an Illustrating Bible, you can skip the gesso).
- Start creating your watercolor Bible verse page by laying down a light wash of color. I started with orange, then pink, then purple, and finally blue, blending each color into the next as I went. The more water you add to the paint, the lighter the color will be.
- Keep painting more layers of color as desired. It’s best to let the each layer dry before adding more color; you can always use a heat tool to dry it faster. To make the color more saturated, use less and less water with each layer. I think it took me three layers to achieve the color I wanted in the orange, pink, and purple bands (four or five layers for the dark blue though). Don’t forget to blend each band of color into the next as you go.
- Once you’ve achieved your desired Bible journaling watercolor sunset colors, grab a marker spritzer and add some stars! Check out my marker spritzer tutorial for more info on how to use it to create cool effects. For these stars, I used it with an Uni Posca white paint pen.
- If desired, you can outline or underline Psalm 113 with a gel pen. I used a silver glitter gel pen from this Color Technik set.
- Use the lovely stamps in the Women of Praise stamp set, to stamp “praise the Lord” in the margin, with black ink or whatever ink you prefer. Feel free to add some of the other images of praise included in the set, as well.
- Take the mountain range stamp from the Landscape Silhouettes set (or whichever silhouette you want to use), and stamp it at the bottom. You can let it be as-is, or stamp it twice like I did, to cover the whole width of the page.
- If necessary, use black acrylic paint mixed with a bit of acrylic glazing liquid, to darken the “praise the Lord” and mountain range silhouette.
- Finally, you can use gel pens to add the date or any other words or notes you want. I also went in with a silver glitter gel pen (after I had already turned the camera off), and embellished the highlights in the “praise the Lord” letters.
And that’s it! A lovely Bible journaling watercolor sunset, perfect for Psalm 113. As verse 3 says, ‘From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised’. Need I say more?
Hi! Thank you so much for visiting Divine Creative Love. I’m a Jesus-lovin’ girl, lettering artist, designer, and general creative-at-heart. And, I have narcolepsy. I blog about faith in God, overcoming challenges, and creative topics such as Bible journaling. If you’re new here, be sure and subscribe to my list so you won’t miss anything!