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:
Initial Sketch
Sky - First Wash
Sky - Defining Clouds
Preparing Color (For Ocean and Sand)
Ocean
Waves
Sand
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