How to Paint Ocean Scenes With Watercolors
Even if you live miles away from the sea, painting an ocean scene with watercolors provides a chance to develop your artistic skills. When you're finished, you'll have a beautiful piece of custom artwork suitable for displaying in your home or giving as a gift.
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Things You'll Need
- Masking tape
- Stiff board
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Watercolor painting paper
- Watercolors
- Large paintbrush
- Small paintbrush
- Water
- Paper towels
Instructions
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1
Use masking tape around the edges of your watercolor paper to attach it to a stiff board. This creates a smooth surface for your painting and prevents your paper from buckling while it's damp.
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2
Sketch a light outline of the ocean scene onto the watercolor paper. For a beginning artist, it's usually easier to sketch from a photograph than it is to paint directly from nature. When you work with photographs, there's no need to worry about problems caused by changing light or weather conditions.
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3
Apply a light wash of color to the paper to distinguish between the background and foreground areas of your ocean scene. Leave a few white areas in the sky to suggest the presence of clouds.
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4
Build up depth to your painting by applying additional layers of pigment as needed. An ocean scene painted with watercolors needs two or three layers of color in most cases, with the darkest point being at the horizon line.
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5
Add waves with a small brush to make your ocean scene look realistic. Remember that the waves need to be larger at the bottom and smaller at the top.
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6
Soften hard edges in the sky and water by using a clean, damp brush and a gentle scrubbing motion. This technique works particularly well for areas that would be touched by sea spray.
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7
Lightly erase any visible pencil marks once your ocean scene is completely dry. Remove the masking tape before you frame your painting.
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Tips & Warnings
If painting on a large surface seems overwhelming, purchase a pack of small watercolor note cards from your local craft or hobby store. This small size is easy for the beginning artist to work with.
