Painting the foreground simple row boats

I now painted the foreground simple row boats with a stronger mixture of French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, and a little Alizarin Crimson. The Alizarin Crimson is used to help warm the color up and enhance the feeling that the row boats are closer to the viewer.

I painted each boat with a flat wash of watercolor (watercolour) and then lifted out some of the lighter shades with a barely damp watercolor brush. While the hulls of the boats were still wet I painted their reflections with a similar wash to that which was used for the hull. While it was still wet I painted the waterline with a mix of French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna. It was timed so that some of the paint flowed both up and down from the waterline. It is this technique that makes the boats look like they are properly floating on the water.

Finishing off the watercolor painting

This watercolor painting of simple row boats is now almost done.

I decided to place another row boat on the right and a little further out in the water as it looked a little bare in that area.

I then painted a few birds to add a little more life to the scene. Again notice how the birds are positioned to lead the eye back into the painting without being too obvious. I also made sure the birds were of varying shapes and sizes and not equidistant from one another.

The only thing which makes this a simple watercolor painting is its size. If it was painted on a quarter sheet it would have required a little more skill but, if you want to go ahead and give it a try you should do so. In a larger painting I would add some more detail to the row boats and maybe add some noticeable booms to some of the closer sailing boats. The signed and it is finished.

You can find more simple demonstrations at this link: Simple watercolor painting demonstrations

Should you have any questions about this demonstration or watercolor painting in general please let me know through my Contact page.