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| Rocky Cove on the Shoreline - I had a great Shady spot to study the rocks in the water. |
One of the things I did was settle by the shore and paint rocks! Not just any rocks, the rocks that were hidden away under the water. It was a challenge. Even more so in watercolour. You only get 1 chance to get it right!!
Ink and Watercolour love to play. Join Wendy to learn new drawing skills with this playful pair. See below for more info. Contact Wendy to Register
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When I really started to look at the situation I discovered many secrets.
5 Secrets for Painting Rocks HIDING under the water:
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| Depending are how close you are to the underwater rocks you see different things - surface reflections or submerged rocks. |
1.
Rocks are there but not
visible: It was interesting to see this
pile of rocks in the water. I was in my
kayak and from a distance you could only see the reflection of the rocks about
the water. As I got closer there was a
mix of reflections but also rocks visible under the surface. When I was nearly
by the rock pile the reflections disappeared and only the rocks were visible
under the water.
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| Mossy Rocks: Shadows, hide some rocks while other rocks can be clearly seen |
2. The Colour of the rock changes when wet or dry: This is probably the thing you notice the most. Dry rocks are often light coloured, bleached by the sunlight.
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| Rocky Ledge - Rock colours change depending on whether they are dry or wet |
While the submerged part of the rock is darker. This may be quite a subtle change for lighter-coloured rocks, but dark black rocks may be a charcoal colour when shaded and dry but very dark under the water. Choose your colours accordingly as you paint them.
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| Trickling Water - Sun, Shade, Wet or Dry, rocks are not all the same colour |
3. The Edges of Rocks change: This is a more subtle change for the rocks. The dry rocks have sharper edges for their markings and if they have sharp edges, those will also be crisp. The rocks under the water will have softer edges. Shadows may be dark but the edges soft. This varies with the distance.
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| Rocks near and far - Colour and Edges vary with perspective. |
The closer they are in the foreground the
crisper the edges, but they soften considerably when they appear in the
background. If you paint a soft wash of colour over the rocks it will dull and
soften their edges. You can use a wash
of water to soften the edges if you do not want to change the colour at
all.
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| Sunny Rocks at Hayward Lake - Edges of Rocks can disappear in the distance |
4.
Water surface tells a story: As
you paint what’s under the water, remember water has a ‘surface’. The surface of the water may have small bits
floating on it - bugs, bubbles, twigs.
If there is any movement in the water, it will have ripples. These will reflect light from the sky,
sunlight, . . Whatever the light source
is. The ripples on the surface will have
sharp edges if in the foreground. Even a
few ripples will create the illusion that something is below the ripple.
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| Mossy Rocks by the Water - Ripples and Shadows on the surface can bury the rocks |
5. A bead of white appears: This is something your photos may not show but you will see in life. On the shadow side of the rock or object as it meets the waterline there will be a bead of white. The reflected light on the water surface as it reaches up to the object.
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| Rocky Cove on the Shoreline - Bead of white complete the Illusion of Rocks hidden under the water |
Ink and Watercolour love to play. Join Wendy to learn new drawing skills with this playful pair. See below for more info. Contact Wendy to Register
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Painting rocks under the water is like a magical illusion. You are making a flat surface (the paper) appear to have multiple layers and depth. Paying attention to a few details will make your illusion more successful.
Enhance Your Drawing Skills using Ink & Watercolour
Thursday, October 10, 17 & 24, 6:00-8:00pm PST (Zoom)
Ink & Watercolour love to Play together. Using pen and watercolour, this series of lessons will focus on developing your drawing skills: Light and Shadows, Edges, Relationships and Composition. Wendy will pull from elements of nature and urban settings for her subject material.
Cost: Early Bird $75 Before Oct 8, $90 after Contact Wendy to Register
