How do I Make Water Look Like Water in My Paintings?

Painting reflections in water is often a problematic area for the beginner. They are sometimes illustrated as simply an inverted image of the object above, often misaligned or too idealised. In other cases, water is painted as harsh blue or slate grey with repetitive wave marks. Such portrayals tend to look naive to the viewer.

Common Mistakes with Painting Water

Realistic Water Painting
Rachel Shirley

By identifying common painting practices that cause unrealistic water, the artist can begin to improve. Frequent issues include:

Using any blue or grey at hand and applying it neat over the water
Painting identical waves all over the surface
Giving the water a definite, unnatural edge
Ignoring weather conditions when judging tonal values
Painting reflections misaligned or not vertically true
Using identical colours and tones for reflections and the objects reflected
Adding edges to reflections that do not exist

Tips for Painting Water and Reflections

A reflection will always lie directly below the object. A ruler helps ensure accuracy.
Regardless of the object’s shape, its reflection will appear vertically stretched due to water texture.
Reflections are usually darker or more muted than the objects causing them.
Ripples and waves appear smaller and more regimented with distance.
With light behind the viewer, water appears paler and more muted with distance.
The sky’s reflection will always appear slightly darker and more saturated.

See my video clip on how I painted water in this Lakeland scene. The lake colours follow certain rules: deeper than the sky, more regimented patterns with distance, and a simple palette of cerulean blue, burnt sienna and white.

The Secrets to Painting Water

Turn the painting upside down to check reflections are truly vertical.
Include any colour visible in the water, no matter how unexpected.
Ensure the water’s tone keys in with the surrounding landscape.
Resist illustrating every wave. Use soft brushes to soften edges.
Blend edges of reflections, ripples and shorelines with a wide sable brush.
Wet‑into‑wet techniques give water a fluid look.
If the water looks wrong, wipe it off or glaze over once dry.
Linseed oil and layered painting create smooth gradations.
Viridian added to pthalo blue sharpens water colour on clear days.

Essential Art Materials for Painting Water

Useful pigments include titanium white, ultramarine, pthalo blue, cerulean, permanent rose and viridian green.

Good quality soft sables (sizes 6 and 10) are ideal for blending large areas. Rounds (sizes 1 and 3) sharpen detail. Ox‑hair bristles suit impasto and large areas. Linseed oil adds transparency for glazing; impasto medium adds body for rough seas and spray.