If you wish to paint river, here is a helpful guide.
Painting a river can be tricky.
Having said that, there is something about the water bodies that’s so healing. You want to perfect it as an artist as that water body you created will heal you and bring so much joy to you and your art lovers.
Let’s try and understand some tricks I learnt while painting a water body in my painting “The Group Dance” of “The Butterfly Series”:
Background color matters if you want to paint river water!
If you are planning to paint deep river, before you even start making waves and splash of water in the water body, please make sure to use one common background color. You can definitely mix and play with the background color of the river, sea or lake. However, it is so crucial to have one common tone throughout.
I had to learn this step the hard way. When everything was done, still the water body didn’t seem like coming together as one river. I had to go back and adjust the background color and the magic happened.
What I painted finally looking like one real river water.
What is near gets bigger waves
If you want to paint river water and give it those 3D effects, you need to give bigger waves to the nearest shore. The farthest shore will get the smallest waves. Rather, it’s better that you show the smallest wave as just a suggestion through small brush strokes.
The farthest wave is more broken and thinner
This point is an elaboration of the second point. The farthest wave (near the farthest shore) will get small thin (suggestion) of waves. On similar lines, the nearest waves (in the nearest shore) will get thicker, longer, and more detailed waves.
Do not overdo waves to paint river effectively
This point is subjective depending on your level at which you paint river water. It also depends on which water body are you trying to depict in your art work. However, what I am trying to say here is that you need to keep checking your progress. It’s common to paint lots of waves with continuous brush strokes only to realize that the water body has lost its natural look and essence. This holds true if you want to paint white river, blue river or even sea!
Look at your water body from a distance frequently
Keeping the spirit of the previous point, I cannot stress enough how important it is to take few steps back and look at your painting from a distance. It is particularly helpful if you intend to paint deep river because you need to get the larger perspective. The whole thing should finally look like one water body. Everything should beautifully combine.
I hope I have helped you if you ever wondered how to paint river in oil colors. Try painting a water body. It will be a challenging, uplifting and profound experience!
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