Oil Painting And Representing Water

By Author: Anthony Keith Whitehead
Total Articles: 21
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Painting water can be a problem, whether the water is coastal or inland. This article looks at inland water rather than seascapes and offers some pointers.

Below The Surface
What lies below the surface of, say, a river or lake, is often of great interest. But representing such things can cause problems. In the painting of, say, rivers, streams and lakes, a very important aspect has to do with what lies on the bottom -- and showing that is not the easiest thing in oil painting and will take some practice.

Some Useful Tips
Here are a few tips worth considering:
First, try using transparent oil paints for the water rather than opaque paint.
Secondly, paint what is below the surface darker than what is above it e.g. a stone that shows through the surface of the water would have its submerged part painted darker than that above the water.
Thirdly, paint what is below the surface first.
Fourthly, use touches of white to indicate the flow of water passing rocks and stones.
Finally, use a succession of thin glazes to represent the water and to show what is beneath.

Putting ...
... The Tips Into Practise
First, if you use a transparent paint for the actual water, that paint will not block out what is below the surface. In doing this, use a medium such as, for example, Liquin Original or Stand Oil and mix a small quantity of paint into it, so that what you are going to apply is quite thin. Some turpentine can also be added – but don’t over do it.

Check the manufacturers details for the paints you are buying which are usually classed as transparent or opaque or with some degree of these characteristics indicated, although where possible stay with the fully transparent type since these are best for glazing.

Secondly, if you have a stream with some rocks in it, position the rocks first. Then show the depth of water with a dark band from the river bed as far up the stone as required.

Thirdly, if you have things below the surface (e.g. pebbles or rocks) these are better painted first.
Fourthly, when you have water that is moving, You can get a sense of depth and movement simultaneously by adding touches of white foam where the water impacts the object and passes it. This is a useful method of suggesting things below the surface. (See for example my painting of Heyburn Wyke, Yorkshire Dales/A>).
Fifthly, Build up the effect of flowing water with several glazing coats, painting round any large stones projecting through the surface but painting over anything on the bed. Try different brushes. With a round or filbert brush, for example, it is easy, using some downward pressure, to create ripple--type effects on the surface. If you have something fully covered with water, try putting some ripples part way over them.
Another Painting Challenge
Another type of challenge is to represent reflections. These can vary quite widely in their appearance. If the water is relatively still, the painting can almost become, as it were, two sided: one side which is the actual object or objects, and the other which may be almost a mirror image. In this case, one needs to get the reflections in the appropriate position, since it is easy to get them offset or with the wrong slope or inclination.
When you are sketching in the general shapes for the picture can be a good time to position reflections. Try using transparent paints to do the sketching with a thin brush and very light coloured paint. That way you do not have the problem of trying to achieve the impression of water while covering up pencil marks at the same time.
Attention also needs to be given to differences in the depth of colours, especially where these occur near objects on the water, such as boats. Moreover, unless the water is very still, its movement will cause “distortions” in the shape of the objects reflected. This, of course, can be an advantage since there will tend to be more variation between an object itself and both the shape and position of a reflection. In addition these aspects can be used to add additional interest to the painting.
Persevere
It is sometimes useful to try developing such skills as painting water on a cheaper painting surface which can be thrown away afterwards. But try only one or two effect at a time e.g. a couple of rocks on a stony stream bed, or a gentle flow of water over a drop in the level of the bed. Trying a few experiments like this is often more productive in the long run than attempting new techniques within a full painting which, if they do not come out as hoped, can waste much time and expense.

AUTHOR: A K Whitehead
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