5 Minute Boats

by Anne Kupillas.

The key to including boats as supporting characters in your oceanscapes is to simplify what you see.

Boats, especially a group of boats, have a LOT of detail in real life. Sails, moorings, riggings, radar, masts and other equipment, not to mention the crew aboard. This can all read as very confusing in a painting, so you must simplify what you are seeing and what you put down on the paper.

Forget what you may know about boat anatomy, and try to see the simple shapes that make up boats. What I’m saying is, use observation for the majority of your sketch or painting and then you can use a tad of boat knowledge to add the final touches like shadows and flourishes.

Try not to get bogged down in detail, especially at the beginning! Start by seeing the basic shapes that make up the boat or group of boats in your scene. If you make a habit of doing this, then you’ll find it’s fairly easy to capture boats at any time - even when they’re moving.

Generally, I start with the shape of the hull, the body of the boat, and then the a mast, if there is one, and cabin. Darker details like the windows of the cabin, the bimini on top of the boat or an outboard motor, help me see the light/dark variations in the shapes. A simple line across the hull of the boat can help add perspective to the shape, especially in 3/4 views.

As you can see in this very rough sketch of a bobbing lifeguard boat, although the shape is different from the many pleasure crafts that surrounded it in the harbor, my basic approach was the same, that of a 3/4 back view.

Practice is easy to come by here in Southern California. Even getting my haircut at Peter’s Landing provides a sketch outing to get in some quick studies. On vacation, many times you will find you’re at or near the water. Take advantage of this by having a thin, small sketchbook and a pencil or pen in your bag at all times.

Other Pro Tips:

• Remember Shadows and Reflections - shading, as well as detail, will bring your boats to life and give them form
• Remember the whites! Most boat bodies are Reserve your whites ahead of time, either using a masking aid or by employing negative painting techniques
• Eliminate about 1/2 of what you see - Especially away from the center of interest

This is a little tricky.

If the hull of the boat is light, then the reflection in the water will be darker. If the hull is darker, your reflection will be lighter than the hull. If this seems counterintuitive, just remember that reflections have less contrast than the objects themselves.

These notes from Rancho Cordova Arts have helped me a lot over time:

Reflections have less contrast than the objects being reflected.

o Whatever is dark on land will be lighter in the water.

o Whatever is light on land will be darker in the water.

o Colors become less saturated in water reflections. Even white objects will need to be grayed down in the reflection.

o Leave details out. Blurs of color can work.

o Water is typically darker than the sky it reflects, because water absorbs light.

Here are some tips for using negative painting to render the hulls of the boats white.

Negative Painting Tips:

• Sketch the hull shape first
• Add mast shapes next
• Add sail shapes
• Use masking fluid – or just carve around these shapes
• Wet large areas, but keep the paper near the details dry
• Paint quickly but thoughtfully
• Change brushes to a smaller/firmer brush as you near the edge of your boat shapes, so you can have more dexterity
• Once the wet negative background is dry, add darker details against the light, such as crisper shadows and reflections, a dark motor or Bimini, people aboard, etc.

Final Tip: Eliminate Detail

Remember, details are supporting characters and can have varying levels of personality. Add just enough to just “read.”

Final Words: Practice! Set a timer, for say 5 minutes, and sketch as many boats as you can, using pencil, pen or paint. Sketch from all angles and get used to the shapes you see often. Different locations may have different types of boats! The time spent will allow you to familiarize yourself with the specific silhouettes and details you want to capture. Enjoy!