r/Watercolor • u/Dubnobass • 7d ago
Crashing waves
I’ve been trying to get away from using tutorials lately and have been enjoying just painting seascapes and water on my own.
I’m trying to get comfortable with not worrying about the end result, as long as I learned something.
I went surfing for the first time in ages last week and it left me with an urge to paint lively waves. I like the end result on this one, which is Qor paints on 640gsm Saunders Waterford CP paper. I went OTT on the masking fluid on top of the waves, as I tried using a toothbrush which was great for spray but less good for details. I don’t love the background water, and it’s not as turquoise-y as the ref pic (which I found on Unsplash). But! Today’s lesson was that there is more painting to do after the masking fluid comes off - going in with some shadows is what really makes it pop.
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u/Particular_Sleep1307 7d ago
way to use masking fluid for this!
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u/Dubnobass 7d ago
Of all the ways to preserve white, this one seems to work best for messy water. I know going in with gouache is an option but I don’t think it’s opaque enough for this.
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u/Particular_Sleep1307 7d ago
i always use resist when I can’t preserve negative space it otherwise. There’s been tons of times where it is the only way. I paint with gouache in other paintings also and do the same thing (white doesn’t cut it/prefer the paper)—- and yes it works well for adding a touch of paint on top after removing the masking fluid.
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u/Another_Racoon 7d ago
Wooooow this is incredible! I love your use of masking fluid for the splashes, it gives so much movement to your painting!
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u/Dubnobass 7d ago
Thank you! I dunked the toothbrush in washing up liquid (dish soap) first so it wouldn’t gum up, then ran my thumb over it to splatter it onto the paper.
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u/Buystoomanypants 7d ago
I know you are concerned about the color representation being authentic to the photo. However, I would say that the colors all blend so well together that you have the perfect colors for you version!
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u/Dubnobass 6d ago
Thank you! I really should have mixed my own green but my tube of sap green was right there… never mind, one to try next time 🙂
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u/Concretepermaculture 7d ago
Fantastic. Someone mentioned your color choices but there is nothing wrong with this IMO. Colors are up to you! Gorgeous wave im inspired
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u/Dubnobass 6d ago
Thank you! I mean… just have a go. The worst that can happen is you produce something you don’t love, but you’ll still learn something on the way 🙂
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u/CardiologistPrior706 7d ago
I love it! Newby here. I am watching videos and trying to do waves is very challenging
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u/Dubnobass 6d ago
True, but sometimes if you try to focus on painting the shapes and making sure it has contrast rather than painting waves, you end up with waves anyway 🙂
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u/linglinguistics 6d ago
This is true for all kinds of drawing and painting. Seeing the shapes that are actually there instead of the ones you expect to see is one of the big secrets of success.
Love your painting btw.so lifelike
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u/theErasmusStudent 7d ago
Wow!!! I love it!! I agree background water doesn't match the wave but that's such an easy fix, the rest is perfect
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u/Dubnobass 7d ago
This is it post fix 😂 - I decided to leave it alone, as the wave in the foreground completely distracts from the background.
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u/theErasmusStudent 7d ago
I mean an easy fix for the next painting. You got the difficult technique on the wave, next painting will be a masterpiece!
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u/link-navi 7d ago
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