Today i will guide you to paint a beautiful and serene scene. So take your paints and brushes and let’s dive in!

Supplies

You will need:

  • Watercolor sketchbook / watercolor paper
  • Professional watercolors (listed at the end of this post)
  • Round brush n° 4,8
  • Pencil for the sketch
  • White gouache
  • Masking tape
  • Fountain pen

1 – The Sketch

  • In a rectangle draw the sails and the mountain on the back. I drew a very little piece (7,5×13 cm) but feel free to scale it to a bigger size!
  • Stick the masking tape on the 4 borders of your sketch.

2 – Sky and mountains

  • Take the round brush number 8. Wet the area of the mountains and the sky, avoiding the sails.
  • With the tip of the brush place Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine and a bit of Indigo in the space of the sky.
  • Now wait a bit (about 30 seconds) so that the paper is dump but not as before and paint the mountains with Oxide Green and Indigo. The outlines must be evanescent in order to obtain an aerial perspective.
  • Let it dry.

3 – The sea

  • Again with the brush number 8, wet the area of the sea (avoiding the sails).
  • Start with Turquoise at the bottom of the land and proceed with Ultramarine and Indigo in the foreground.
  • Add dark spots on the mountains with some Indigo.
  • Let dry.

4 – Sails and last details

  • For this part take the round brush number 4.
  • With the white gouache paint on the sails and add very few lines of Yellow Ochre. With Sepia draw some thin details on the sails.
  • With Sepia and Payne define the boats and the shadows behind them.
  • In the foreground sea paint strong lines with Indigo. Then splatter the white gouache.
  • Now take the fountain pen with a dark ink and draw some spots on the horizon line. Do the same on the boat to mimic the presence of some people .
  • End with some white spots in the same area and on the boats to have highlights on them

Yay! You completed it!

Now take a picture of your fabulous painting and, if you like, post it on social media!
Remember to tag me on Instagram (do it on the photo, not in the caption! This way i won’t miss it) with @chiaramazzetti.art and put the hashtag #chiaramazzettitutorial, i’d love to see what you create!

Happy painting!
Chiara

List of watercolor names (based on the brand i used for this painting: White Nights Nevskaya Palitra):

  • Cerulean Blue
  • Ultramarine
  • Indigo
  • Turquoise
  • Sepia
  • Payne’s Gray
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Oxide Green