Oceanscapes: Capturing Water in Watercolor

Happy New Year!

The holidays are a time we reflect on the past year, consider what matters most in life, and look forward to the future. 2021 was a year of blessings, mixed of course because of COVID and the general difficulties of life, but overall full of new experiences and new friends. What I count most important are family, friends, health and watercolor painting. And what I’m most looking forward to is doing more plain air sketching and painting in 2022. Our next plain air retreat takes place on Catalina Island, and so thinking about painting water and being on the island with an agenda of outdoor painting, have been top of mind. I have always been fascinated by water. From childhood, living near Jones Beach, and annual summer vacations to Cape Cod, I was brought up swimming and sunning as often as possible. To this day, my favorite destinations are ocean-bound. I discovered the joy of lakes in summer camp as a teenager and spent many hours exploring the waterways of England and rivers throughout Europe, notably Seine. Settling in Long Beach, Southern California, cemented for me my love of the ocean.

Capturing water is admittedly difficult to paint. However, if there was ever a perfect medium for painting water, it’s watercolor.

Watercolor is the perfect medium - for painting water

If you’re interested in painting water, then you can’t ask for a better medium than watercolors. Watercolor paints are ideal for capturing the essence of water itself, with a translucency and versatility that lends itself well to painting the reflective, transparent surfaces featured in seascapes, lakes, and other water features.

Some things to keep in mind when approaching painting water:

• Light and reflectivity
• Depth - shallow water versus deep water
• Motion (waves or ripples) versus lack thereof (still water)
• Color and transparency
• What’s on or under the surface - objects in the water (rocks, coral, plants, etc ) or sitting on top of the water, like birds or boats, can all disrupt the surface, create reflections and shadows, and change the color and general appearance of the water.

To convincingly paint water (regardless of the medium), we must consider all of these factors and then apply the results to our painting process. The best way to understand these different forces is by observation. Study different photos and study the appearance of water in person, whenever you get a chance.

I’ve been practicing on my own, using different techniques to capture water in all its different incarnations. Here are a dozen tips I’ve picked up and can share with you.

Me sketching at Peter’s Landing

Color

1. The shallower the water, the lighter the colors will be.

2. Go slightly darker with your palette ton the water than you do in the sky. This is because of reflected light. Exceptions: areas of shallow water, which will always be lighter than deep water.

3. Touches of dropped in color can be used to depict things going on under the surface of the water.

4. This method can also be used to indicate reflections, when you want to abstract them.

5. This is also an impactful way to abstract the main event – be it ocean or sky.

Brushstrokes and Textures

6. Smooth broad horizontal strokes are useful in creating a still ocean.

7. Varying strokes – size, direction – creates energy in the water.

My first oceanscape ever; Approaching Catalina During a Storm

8. Scumbling and varying brushstrokes creates energy, great for big waves crashing.

9.In general, short horizontal brushstrokes indicate choppy waves

10. Use a flat wash brush horizontally in tonal shades of the main color to indicate waves and reflections.

11. The best way to indicate reflections is to use broken horizontal or curved strokes – avoid vertical strokes for the most part.

12. Negative Painting – use dark and light shades around the white of the paper for the crests of waves.

What will you create? Start experimenting with painting watercolor water and discover what makes this medium so special to work with. Just keep on learning. I know I am and always will be.