To paint this sunset, I had to wade waist deep through dark ominous looking waters with my canvas on top of my head.  The excitement of painting here was heightened  with the knowledge that this was alligator territory.  When the sun had set for another day I was quick to pack away my paints and return to land; it is no secret that alligators prefer to hunt at night!

I painted facing into the sunset and as a result the clouds were back-lit by the setting sun.  This created a stunning variety of warm purples in the clouds with the bright yellow glow of the sun shining through in areas. To capture this effect I layered the paint in the lightest areas thickly with a loaded brush of cadmium yellow mixed with titanium white.