How to Create an Ocean Scene
- 1). If you don't have access to an actual view of the ocean, use a visual reference of an ocean scene, such as from a photograph or postcard.
- 2). Paint the sky first. Apply a mid-blue paint with a flat brush working from the top of the canvas down to the horizon line. Note that the paint should gradually get lighter in tone towards the horizon. Add white to the sky to add clouds.
- 3). Paint the ocean. Continue using the mid-blue and work down from the horizon, graduating to a lighter tone towards the shoreline. Work in bold lined strokes across the canvas, sometimes leaving a slight white gap in between the lines to allow the white of the paper to be seen to serve as the white foam of a wave. Use white paint to add waves, which are formed towards the shore. Accent the waves with a darker shade of blue to give the waves more definition.
- 4). Complete the ocean scene by painting in the shoreline. Use yellow ochre and a touch of burnt umber to paint a sandy beach. Paint the sand just as you painted the sky and the ocean by applying the yellow ochre and working down from the shoreline to the bottom of the canvas with the color getting lighter in tone. Blend the colors of the sand and the ocean together a little so that beach can be seen below the transparency of the water. Add a touch of burnt umber to add darker tones in the sand.
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