How to Paint the Ocean

How to Paint the Ocean Easily! Painting the ocean can be done either by depicting still calm water such as in an evening scene with a lone sailboat in the moonlight or by depicting restless waves crashing along the rocky shoreline. When people think of painting the ocean they often think to paint ripply blue movements of paint. The key to painting realistic water is to focus on using the correct color of paint and the correct brushstroke.

Painting Still Water - To get the effect of still water in a daytime scene you want to have the water contain the same color as the sky. It does not have to be exact but it should be similar. Don't be afraid to use green, burnt sienna and purple in the blue to create dramatic shading. Water along shorelines appears darker, so you would want to darken it up with the colors mentioned. Remember that deep water in an evening ocean scene would probably contain very little blue and would appear mostly green. As you add color don't blend it completely, let the variations show. In order for the water to appear still, keep the brush strokes short and horizontal. Of course if the scene is depicting a completely still ocean you could allow the strokes to become longer but again, keep them horizontal. One last tip for still water realism is to paint the reflections of ships, lighthouses, etc in the waters. 
 
Painting Restless or Rough Water - The movement of waves crashing against the shore always enhances a painting. You will first under-paint with the main water color. A nice dark mixture of green, blue and burnt sienna works nicely. As you paint it in, let the variations of color show. The choppy brushstrokes will create the illusion of movement. When you are done, use a lighter version of the mixture and stroke in some wave action. This will look like wavy lines. Don't make them all the way across the painting. Do some here and there. The closer that you work toward the front of the painting make the wavy lines larger or more up and down. To create the effect of splashes, use white and gently dab it along the wavy line. If you want the wave to get larger, dab the white higher on the line. Again, don't keep it continuous. If the line looks too awkward, just paint over it with the main water color. With the liner brush, now take white and with curved strokes pull a few streaks down the wave and into the water.  You should really study other paintings or photos and try to mimic what you see. If the scene has a shoreline or rocks, you can create very dramatic splashes by dabbing white basically wherever the water hits the rocks. 
 
There are dozens of ocean scene variations and it would be untrue if anyone told you that you could only paint water a certain way. The best way to learn is by following tutorials and practicing.  Don't be afraid to experiment and don't forget to focus on using the correct colors and brush strokes.

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How to Paint the Ocean

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