The Badge Archive

Activity Description: Scouts paint a sunrise or sunset using warm colors and blending techniques to create a horizon, sun, and sky.

• Fulfills Step 2 of GSUSA Brownie Art and Design badge requirements
• Fulfills Step 3 of GSUSA Junior Art and Design badge requirements.

Info Needed: Different colors can show different feelings, like happy, sad, or calm. Colors also help us see and understand what things are, like a green tree or a blue sky. Using colors in art helps make the pictures more interesting and tells a story.

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Items Needed:

• Canvas or thick paper
• Yellow, orange, red, purple, and white paint
• Paper plate for mixing
• Paintbrushes
• Cup of water for rinsing
• Paper towel for drying brushes
• (Optional) Black or blue paint for finishing the bottom of the painting

Instructions (Estimated Total Time: 30 min):

1. Shake each paint well and place small dabs on the paper plate (3 min)
   • Keep colors spaced apart so they don’t run together.
2. Paint a horizontal yellow line just above or below the center of the canvas (2 min)
   • This is the horizon line.
3. Paint a yellow circle for the sun just above the horizon line (2 min)
4. Pull yellow outward from the sun toward the edges of the canvas using left-to-right strokes (3 min)
5. Rinse the brush and dry it before changing colors (1 min)
6. Add orange paint above the yellow and blend it downward into the yellow (4 min)
   • Pull yellow upward into the orange to create a smooth blend.
7. Add red paint above the orange and blend it like before (4 min)
8. Add purple in the top corners and pull it slightly down the sides and into the top center (4 min)
   • Do not over-blend so the purple stays visible.
9. Add white highlights around the sun and blend them outward (3 min)
   • (Optional) Add more white if it fades too much.
10. Repaint the sun with yellow to make it stand out (2 min)
11. Finish the bottom of the painting however the scout chooses (2 min)
    • (Optional) Use water strokes, black for silhouettes, or extend the sunset.

Scouts can view short videos of these steps at WikiHow’s sunset painting tutorial.