Last week I had the opportunity to teach kids ranging from 1st grade through high school how to paint the ocean with watercolor. The seascape painting was part of a 12” seashell wall hanging project to be completed over three days. I was excited but nervous.
Even though the kids were somewhat divided up by age – the age range was the biggest challenge. The kids were so sweet and I really enjoyed getting to know them over the course of 3 days. And their paintings (and projects) turned out amazing.
I had the whole project mapped out, which was helpful. Finishing early worked out fine, because I used the extra time to allow them to play and experiment with watercolor. Finding a few fun projects on Pinterest helped. What I would improve on next time would be setting up the project to allow them to work more independently – if possible.
I hope the kids had fun and have a new appreciation for watercolor.
After a busy time, it feels good to be playing around with watercolor again. When I haven’t painted in a while it feels easier to dip my toe in by working in my sketchbook. At first I don’t know what to paint so I just doodle and play around. Usually inspiration strikes. I started painting a series of mini seascapes. I’m practicing for a workshop I’m teaching next week.
The beach has been the backdrop of my life. It’s where I was born and raised, played, worked as a lifeguard…and now enjoy summer days with my family. I spend a lot of time learning and practicing capturing the ocean in watercolor.
How to Paint the Ocean with Watercolor and Gouache:
1. Use a reference photo. It is very important to paint from a reference photo. All the details you want to capture to make your painting look realistic are in a photo.
2. Tape your paper to a board. Tape your paper down to prevent it from buckling when it gets wet.
3. Tape your horizon line. To ensure a straight horizon line, use a ruler to measure and mark each side of the paper where the horizon line should be. Then tape across your paper above the pencil marks.
4. Mix your colors. I always mix my ocean colors to achieve more natural looking colors. In general from the horizon line to the sand the colors go from blue, to green, to brown.
5. Paint the first layer. Starting at the tape paint the distant ocean all the way to the dry sand, changing colors as you go. Don’t be afraid to overlap the colors.
6. Darken the first layer as needed. Add darks in the ocean for waves, etc. Refer to your reference photo. If the first layer is dark, consider lifting color with a damp brush to create highlights.
7. Paint the sky. Paint a simple fade where the color lightens as it gets closer to the horizon.
8. Paint the foam with white gouache. Gouache is more opaque than watercolor and you can paint over watercolor. I add white over the first layer of ocean colors to create the foam of the waves.
9+. Add details. Study your photo for little details – shadows in the breaking waves, etc. The details are what will make your painting more realistic looking.
Call it done! Every painting is a learning experience and information for the next painting. Call this one done and then try another one. The more you paint a subject, the better you’ll get at it.
I dive deeper into the process of painting seascapes in my video lesson and pdf tutorial. Give one a try!
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The other morning I sat down to paint in an effort to turn my bad mood around. As I was painting, and not feeling great about myself, I was thinking how much confidence plays a part in painting. When you are feeling good, you are hopeful about the outcome of a painting as you work. But when you are feeling low, it’s easy for negative thoughts to sabotage your work. At these times it’s even hard to motivate to sit down and paint in the first place.
Thankfully, painting did help turn my mindset around and most of the things bothering me either worked themselves out, or proved to not be as bad as I let them seem.
A few days later I was reading Chip Gaines’s book “Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff.” Chip, along with his wife Joanna, starred in HGTV’s Fixer Upper. Chip’s book is about their story, and is also very motivational. Because of my recent thoughts on confidence and painting, this quote really spoke to me:
I’m glad that I sat down the other morning to paint despite my mood. I know that if you really want something, you have to work at it no matter what, and I’m trying to put that into practice. Check out Chip’s book here.
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I often think about an online class I took by Val Webb called “Drawing Children.” At the time, I was amazed at how well Val knows the nuances of the faces and figures of children. Now as I paint the ocean – almost exclusively, mostly in watercolor, but recently in acrylics – I think about not just the techniques to make the painting look realistic, but the characteristics of the ocean.
As I was painting the water, specifically the foam at high tide, I was painting and pulling back the strokes, because I was thinking about how the water is being pulled back by the tide. This is something you wouldn’t know just by looking at a photo. All the time I’ve spent at the beach might be making a difference in my painting. Last summer, after painting the ocean all winter, I looked and observed the water differently than before.
Work in progress where I was “pulling back”
My son recently asked if I was going to paint anything else. I guess to him, every painting is similar. To me I’m learning with each painting. The ocean looks so different at different times and different angles. I’m sticking with the ocean, and I’m currently challenging myself by working to capture this amazing subject in acrylics.
Click here to view my collection of watercolor seascapes. Prints are available on watercolor paper or canvas, in many sizes.
Starting this third set of canvases was the first time I felt comfortable – instead of frustrated – with acrylic painting. I was working on my first layer, blending all my colors on the canvas, and I had that feeling that I usually have with watercolor. It’s a happy, satisfied feeling, that what you are picturing in your mind is coming out on the canvas. I’m learning how to work the acrylics. I’m getting it. The first layer of this painting felt like a break through.
The first layer:
What I’ve learned about acrylics so far this month:
A coat of gesso makes the paint go on easier
When your brush starts to split – you need more water
When your brush is drippy – that’s too much water
Blend the colors next to each other for a more natural look
Add highlights by adding white paint (or lighter paint) to your brush and blending it with the wet paint on the canvas
Use little canvases (or a canvas pad) to test color mixes
Painting in acrylic involves more set up and prep than watercolor
It is not at easy as watercolor to make a quick fix or change
It is better to work when the paint on the canvas is wet and you have plenty of your colors mixed and ready
Click here to view my collection of watercolor seascapes. Prints are available on watercolor paper or canvas, in many sizes.
With 10 sets of 12” square canvases to complete this month, I have many paintings in various stages. For these 2, the second set of my acrylic canvas challenge, I wanted to add more lights and darks within the green of the wave. (See before below).
I’m learning that with acrylics, it is better to work on a whole area of a painting to better blend the paints and create highlights and shadows. To do this, you need all those colors mixed and ready. I realized this yesterday when I tried to just add some highlights. Without the dark paint to blend into, my quick tweak didn’t go well.
Today I sat and mixed the paints and worked on finishing these. I was beginning to regret fussing with the paintings at all – you fix one area, and sometimes ruin another. At a certain point you have to call a painting done, and take what you learned to the next painting. Overall I’m happy with my progress so far this month.
Click here to view my collection of watercolor seascapes. Prints are available on watercolor paper or canvas, in many sizes.
I was so excited to start the second set of acrylic canvases, I dove right in Saturday morning. I had been mulling over what was bothering me about the first set of canvases, as well as what I learned, and I realized these two things perfectly intersected.
I learned about blending and fading color in this video and then saw Katie Jobling painting a wave in this video. My main complaint with my first set of paintings was that the wave and water behind it looked flat. It looked like a solid block of color. I wasn’t successful in adding highlights and darks to it. What I realized was, I needed to paint, from the beginning, a background that wasn’t solids, but blends. And from there I can add more detail – by adding more blends on top.
Blending the colors is working great so far. I’m really happy with my first layer. It is still a challenge mixing the right colors. I don’t like to work straight from the tube as the colors don’t look as natural. I’ve gotten pretty good at mixing colors in watercolor to achieve the palette I want. I’ll keep trying in acrylic. I do need to use more paint! I tend to mix too little. I’m used to watercolor paints where a little paint goes a long way.
For this set I have my reference photo out, so I can look at the highlights and shadows as I paint the blends. I didn’t refer to the reference photo much for the last set, because I wanted the painting to be a little looser. But I think I ended up missing a lot.
Click here to view my collection of watercolor seascapes. Prints are available on watercolor paper or canvas, in many sizes.
I’m happy with the results and learned a lot this week as I try painting in acrylic after working for so long in watercolor. Admittedly, the first day in my acrylic challenge was frustrating.
I’m so used to working in watercolor where:
A little paint goes a long way
Water lightens color
Paint goes on the paper so easily, especially wet paper with a wet brush
You need just a cup or two of water for brush cleaning
One paper towel is all you need to occasionally dry a brush
Day 1 with acrylics:
The paint wasn’t going on smoothly
I was brushing off paint and creating messy clumps
I had to change out my cups of water frequently
My paint mixes were so dark I had to mix in a lot of white
Lessons learned the first day:
Mix in a little water for smoother brushing (helpful site: www.artisfun.com)
Perhaps apply gesso prior to painting (recommended by above website)
Let layers dry to avoid brushing off paint and creating clumps
Have lots of rags handy!
Day 2 with acrylics:
Mixing in a little water helped. Paint went on smoothly.
When I want to create a fade in watercolor, I apply the color and then use water to fade it out. Doing this in acrylic, adding too much water, creates a strange look and I worry it will rub off.
Overall, I was proud of my progress on Day 2.
Day 3:
Similar struggle with how to fade colors (without too much water)
Struggled with mixing the right color for the sand
Lessons learned on Day 4. (I combined painting with watching instructional YouTube videos.)
Fading colors. This video was very helpful regarding fading:.
How much is too much water? This video answered my question on mixing in water. 80% paint, 20% water max.
I’m still trying to figure out the right color mixes, especially sand, which is ironic because back at the beginning of my blog (2014), I was painting in acrylic and trying to figure out what color sand is! Overall I’m happy with my progress and am looking forward to learning more next week!
Click here to view my collection of watercolor seascapes. Prints are available on watercolor paper or canvas, in many sizes.
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