How to Paint Seascapes and Water in Any Medium

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This roundup of techniques will refresh your skills in how to paint seascapes and water just in time to head for lakeside or beach.

They say you can’t step in the same river twice — and that goes for lakes, oceans, and creeks too, as they move and change every minute. Water’s qualities of changing motion, its ability to be both reflective and transparent, its range of shifting colors — it all makes for an endlessly fascinating subject. The challenge of how to paint seascapes and bodies of water can be a lifelong exploration for artists.

We’ve selected some of our best articles with techniques to help you confidently paint seascapes and landscapes with water elements. Whether you sketch and paint in plein air or snap photos to take back to the studio, you’ll have the pleasure of time spent waterside. And these days, science says that’s a healthy place to be — something artists have known all along.

Seascape and Water Fundamentals

Begin by downloading the Artists Network free guide to painting water. It includes three step-by-step water painting demos, along with tips on painting sea foam and waves. You’ll learn about color contrasts, handling reflection and refraction of light on water, and more.

Next, explore tutorials that break down different kinds of water scenes:

• Johannes Vloothuis offers Insight on Painting Seascapes, including a detailed “anatomy” of a seascape painting to guide you.
• Watercolor artist Carol Evans loves painting still water. Get four tips and advice on careful observation in Skip the Ripples and Waves — For Now.
• Come back to Johannes Vloothuis for tips on painting the fastest-moving water in Paint Waterfalls That Are Full of Motion.

Techniques for Light and Reflection

Water interacts with the sun, sky, and clouds in different ways at different times. With practice and guidance from experienced pros, you’ll discover ways to capture the interaction of water and light. Start with these stories:

• Artist Rick Bennett paints deep, often transparent tropical waters in acrylics. Read about his process and follow his “Looking Through Water” demo in Painting the Ocean With Light and Color.  
• Johannes Vloothius offers six rules of thumb for reflective water in Secrets to Painting Convincing Water Reflections.
• John P. Osborne walks you through steps for how to paint seascapes in oil in Painting Seascapes with Atmospheric Progression.

How to Paint Seascapes and Water in Plein Air

Painting seascapes and water in plein air may be more unpredictable than painting landscapes, but what a wonderful way to spend your painting time. Here are techniques and tips especially tailored to painting water outside.

• John Hulsey and Ann Trusty offer four essential plein air tips for The Art of Painting Water.
• Catherine Gill shares insightful plein air techniques for painting the sea — as well as the land and sky, in Plein Air Techniques: Land, Sea and Sky.
• We love the lighthearted approach to art hacks in The Big Drink: Art Hacks for Smooth Sailing When Painting All Things Seascape.

Go Deep — For Inspiration

Finally, get inspired with these breakdowns of the work and processes of artists who focus on seascapes. In fact, bookmark them on your phone or tablet and read them on the beach between painting sessions!

• Cape Cod is the setting for the meditative paintings of The Shores, Seas and Skies of Anne Packard.
• The beaches of New England are also home for the mesmerizing pastel seascapes of Deborah Quinn-Munson. Don’t miss Mastering the Art of Light in Paintings of Water.
• On the opposite coast, Marcia Burtt intrepidly paints the unpredictable Pacific coastline in Plein Air Landscapes in Acrylics: Capturing Changes.

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The Artists Network shop also offers an extensive selection of instructional videos for purchase to help you learn how to paint seascapes and water. Instructors include Grant Fuller, Johannes Vloothuis, Birgit O’Connor, and more. Access to videos is also included in membership.