Arizona Sunset

I created this sunset mosaic as a gift for my in-laws who live in Arizona.

Here is the sketch I made for the project.

I then transferred that idea onto a sturdier background that I had measured and marked to size.

I changed my mind about the shapes of the cacti, so I made those adjustments, and then I painted the picture to plan out the color story.

I started with some outlines but realized when I was finished that they would probably be too narrow to be seen (which would have made it look like stained glass), but I left them rather than pull them all off.

I folded paper for the main rays of the sun, but the rest of the sky is made with traditional coils. While you can't see those outlines I did previously, they did end up being helpful in sectioning off different areas to fill.

I really love the way that the cacti came out. I used a combination of the combing technique and coils for the first cactus and circular coils for the second one. The second cactus is my favorite. For the flower on that one, I used a strip of 1/16th inch white paper and a tiny 1/32nd inch strip for the yellow center.

Here is the final picture:

And here it is framed!