Tips on How to Paint a Seascape

By Annette Labedzki

One thing vital to any form of art is to look deeply at the reality and then try break it down to the small fragments of Colors and Space. It is important to get a big picture view, especially when one sets out to paint a Seascape or a Landscape. One need not paint every bit of the Leaf of Grass in a Landscape, nor does one paint every bit of foam on a sea when painting a Seascape. That is well nigh impossible and if you wanted to do that, why paint a Seascape or a Landscape, get a camera.

The first bit of preparation for Seascape Painting starts with choosing the scenery that excites you. It is no use trying to paint a panorama, which looks great but does not evoke any feeling in you. Only when you are excited, you pour your heart out and produce great art. So how do we go about painting a Seascape onto our canvas? Lets explore:

1. Subject. First, a "field of view" has to be chosen to paint a Seascape. This means that you have to restrict your view to the scenery you want to paint and exclude the rest. For selecting that, you have to make a View Finder by cutting a 3"X1" slot in a Hard Board. The View Finder has to be placed at an arms length to view the Seascape you want to paint. Once you have decided upon the view to be covered through a Seascape Painting, draw a rough sketch on the Canvas.

2. Lines. While painting a Seascape, the first line is that of the Horizon. Place the line of the Horizon at three fourth a distance from the top. Loosely define the lines to bring out the basic contour of the Foam or Spray in your Seascape Painting.

3. Backdrops. Paint large areas of colors such as, the sky and the land, in your Seascape. These elements define the sea and bring out the contrast. One important point to be taken care of is that the sky is more or less of the same hue as that of the sea. The Land that brackets the Sea in a Seascape Painting generally contrasts with the color of the Sea. Moreover, it looks nice to place some man made structure in your View Finder, while painting a Seascape.

4. Foam. The Foam/Wave/Spray of the Sea is the defining part of a Seascape Painting. The most common mistake that occurs while painting the Spray (especially with Oil Paints) is to define it very strongly with closing Brush Strokes. These calculated Brush Strokes give a very heavy appearance to the Waves and they look like puffed cotton. The trick to avoid this mistake is to look closely at the direction of the spray and not the volume. Use your brush to "spray" while coloring in the direction of the wave and not being too firm about it.

5. Practice. It is advised that you try at least a hundred Pencil Sketches of the Waves before embarking on painting a Seascape. Once you have captured the lightness and the sparkle of the Waves, you have covered major length and may not be "at sea" to paint a Seascape.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.labedzki-art.com
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