79/100 tiny painting challenge for 2026 (Patreon)

Constellations for 79! Start by sketching out the specific constellations you prefer in your painting. I like to do the dots for the stars with masking fluid and let them dry completely first to not mess up the lines that form the constellations. For this I chose to use a pen like tool with masking fluid from Daniel Smith, but you can use other masking fluid and dot it on as well. Let each element of masking fluid completely dry before moving on to the next step. If you want to opt out of using masking fluid altogether, paint the entire night sky background and then use white or yellow gouache for the stars, and maybe a white gel pen for the constellation lines. I can't wait to see how you do with this one. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Paper: arches 140 lb cotton 9X12" paper that I've cut into 3X3" pieces, giving me 12 pieces per page.

Masking fluid: Daniel Smith applicator, Winsor and Newton pigmented masking fluid

Alternative to Masking: Paint night sky first, apply dots of white or yellow gouache for main stars in constellation. Add lines with white gel pen or scratch out using tip of an X-Acto knife.

Paint: For this project I am using a split primary palette. All colors are Winsor and Newton, except the manganese is Holbein - cad yellow deep, lemon yellow, cad red, perm. rose, ultramarine blue, manganese, indigo and sap green. The colors I'm using today are - cad yellow, perm. rose, manganese (by Holbein), indigo and ultramarine blue.

Brushes: round 4 & 10 - Princeton

Private youtube link to watch if you need captions or translation: https://youtu.be/dBnyqXc3GL0