It was a beautiful spring day, really the perfect day. I went running, spent time with family, and lots of time outside. We barbecued and shared lots of laughs with the kids. And I started a new beach painting. 😀
Hope you enjoyed the day too!
Watercolor
Stepping back from a painting
I was so happy to have time this weekend to start AND finish a new beach painting. On Saturday I painted the first layers.
On Sunday I added the details – more lights, more darks. I use a lot of white gouache!
I wasn’t sure it was done, but I propped the painting up on a shelf and looked at it from across the room. What a difference compared to staring at it up close. From across the room I declared, “It’s done.” 🙂
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Picking a blue for my next watercolor painting
Recently I created a little swatch guide for all the blue watercolor paints I’d accumulated. Today I used it to help me pick a blue for my ocean mix and a blue for the sky.
Want to learn more about my process for painting the beach? Click here.
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Springtime Creative Inspiration
Eight consecutive days in the sketchbook and everything is inspiring me! I’m loving the warm spring days. Seeing the dogwoods blooming every time I pull up to the house makes me happy. With three kids to pick up and drop off, I pull in and out of the driveway many times a day.
The dogwoods have sentimental value to me, as I wrote in a post last year,
“They were in bloom the first time we looked at our future home. We posed in front of them when we brought our daughter home from the hospital. The house itself has changed – expanded to fit our family that also includes two sons. But the Dogwoods have remained and every time they bloom, I’m reminded of the early days and that this is home.”
Playing around in my sketchbook, first in ink and then in watercolor. And a little lettering practice. Still debating if I should add ink to the watercolor. It’s a common question I struggle with. Either way I have to wait for it to dry. Nothing worse than adding the ink too early and it bleeds.
Hope you are enjoying a beautiful spring day!
Eileen
👉 I’m finding it very inspiring, creating my new newsletter “My Creative Collection.” Check out the latest issue here!
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Watercolor Jetty
I added some darks to the rocks and a bird and now I’m considering this one done! Feels particularly good considering this one almost was completely abandoned.
Here are some progress shots:
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Back at it
Preoccupied with other things, I didn’t sit down to paint much this week. So, it feels particularly good to make some progress on this painting today. This painting has been hanging around for a few weeks. It was definitely at risk of going into the scrap pile. But I try to give each one a chance. I know from experience that even the worst beginnings, can surprise you in the end.
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Finished feels so good!
I’m thankful for today’s snow day and the break from everyday life. That and a few days of sketching figures gave me the push to finally finish this beach scene with the three girls playing in the surf. I’ve been afraid to finish this one – afraid of ruining it. As I sat down to work on it, I thought, “Done is better than unfinished, no matter what the result.” And the more I work on painting figures, and getting the shadows right, the more I’ll learn.
Stages:
I use watercolor pencils to draw the figures. Just wet the lines and it disappears!
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Tips and tools that prove invaluable
When I think about the progress I’ve made in the past two months, there are a few things that standout out to me. First watching videos of other artists painting waves gave me some great tips (which I wrote about here.)
Second, one of the artists was using a flat brush so I bought a couple to try. The smaller flat brush has become invaluable to me.
Lastly, when I started using white gouache for the foam of the waves it was a turning point.
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Prints of my watercolor beach paintings are now for sale at shop.eileenmckenna.com. Take a peek!
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Process for Painting the Beach in Watercolor
There is a real benefit to painting the same subject over and over. You get better at it, and after trying different things, over time you develop a process. You develop a series a steps that you follow every time you paint.
Process for painting watercolor seascapes
Here is a summary of my process. Keep reading for links to more in depth resources.
- Mix seascape colors – I mix blues, greens, and browns from ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, and cadmium red.
- Mark the horizon line. I use painter’s tape to achieve a straight horizon line.
- Paint the ocean water closest to the horizon darker and bluer.
- Paint the water in the cresting wave lighter and greener.
- Paint the shallow water near shore brown.
- Paint the sand. The sand is darkest closer to the ocean where it is wetter.
- Paint the crashing waves with white gouache.
- Paint the foam with white gouache and a flat brush. Horizontal lines help this area appear flat.
- Add shadows to the breaking wave.
- Paint the sky as a blue fade that is lighter closest to horizon.
Learn more about painting watercolor seascapes:
I share my step by step process for painting watercolor seascapes in the following tutorials. Choose the format that works best for you:
- Printable tutorial – step by step with photos of each stage of the process
- Video lesson – 34 minute video lesson
- Live Zoom lessons – coming soon! Check here for updates.
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Related post:
Read “Tips on Painting Waves in Watercolor”
Ready to get started in Watercolor?
The Beginner Watercolor Exploration Guide is for you! And it includes the Watercolor Seascape Painting Tutorial!
- Learn the fundamentals.
- Practice with exercises & projects.
- Discover a love of watercolor!
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