Loose Watercolor Blue Sky Ocean Waves Landscape

I haven’t spent much time studying or painting beach landscapes. So, it goes without saying that I was a little intimidated myself when I decided to pick this ocean and wave reference photo for the July Paint With Me Challenge!

But one thing that I have learned in my years of watercolor painting, is that we have a core set of watercolor techniques (like a toolbox) that we can pull from and apply to different subjects. And since I have a pretty good understanding of the types of techniques available to me in my box of tools, I knew I just needed to practice and see where to apply each of them to create my watercolor painting.

Of course, I still have work to do on refining my skills (I always will), but I did come up with a final painting that I could break into “parts” to make it a bit easier to follow along with.

Inside of Paint With Me, the real-time video is divided into 8 sections for members, but below, you can the hour of painting condensed into 12 minutes. 

However, I want to share the 8 parts in case it helps you break down the painting into more digestible “sections” as you approach it yourself:

  1. Initial Sketch

  2. Sky - First Wash

  3. Sky - Defining Clouds

  4. Preparing Color (For Ocean and Sand)

  5. Ocean

  6. Waves

  7. Sand

  8. Final Touches/Details

Sometimes being able to “see” a photo as different parts help to make it feel less overwhelming.

 
 

And if you’re curious about the supplies and colors I used in the video, here they are:

Paper

Brushes

Colors (All Daniel Smith unless noted):

Sky Colors:

  • Cobalt Blue

  • Quin Rose

Ocean Colors

  • Cobalt Turquoise Light (Winsor & Newton)

  • Cobalt Blue

  • Payne’s Grey

  • Hansa Yellow Light

  • Other options: Phthalo Blue/Phthalo Green mixed with a yellow

Sand

  • Buff Titanium

  • Monte Amiata Natural Sienna

  • Burnt Sienna

  • Raw Umber

Miscellaneous Supplies

  • Clean paper towel

  • Spray Bottle (optional)

Thank you so much for reading and watching!
Susan


 
Blue White Sand Beach Watercolor

Blue White Sand Beach Watercolor