Water Reflections

 

Water is an interesting subject to paint. As a Maine artist, I am drawn to the water - partly because I grew up in the Midwest where lakes and rivers were few and far between. The ocean was just a dream for most of us!
Water comes in all shapes and sizes; from still water to raging waves, green, blue, murky, clear, choppy and calm...the possibilities are many.
Squint your eyes when looking at a picture to paint - what color are you really looking at? Here is my most recent painting of a spring day by the ocean. The wet sand the little girls are standing on is actually a VERY light purple! The ocean is very light blue; and the sky is a has some green tint to the blue as well as a couple of streaks of peach.Click on the picture to see more of my work.

Reflections take some practice. I have taken workshops with Carolyn Walton, an accomplished New England Artist. She has a great way of getting reflections in water.

 

Carolyn first paints the dark colors. The gray blue water, the trees and the tree reflections. To do the tree reflections, she pulls straight down with a brush (the same color as the trees; in fact, its best to paint them at the same time you are painting the real trees). Then, pull down some white to represent the clouds. Then, with a stiff brush, she pulls straight across the gray blue water and the trees a very LIGHT blue. That represents "ripples" which makes the reflections believable. Make sure the light blue is random. She also pulled straight down some light blue at the bottom of the painting. To see more of Carolyn's work, click on the painting.