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
Blue White Sand Beach Watercolor